The Legend Begins
by SomeoneI'mSure
Summary: She was a fan who dreamed she was a cat. Now the dream has become reality and reality a dream. But as the first arc begins to play out around her, huge changes in the story cause her to wonder... Can she survive the affect she is having on the world? Can the world survive her? And is she really meant to stay in ThunderClan? Divergence Fic.
1. Into the Wild pt 1

**A/N: Please do not comment on the fact that some of the characters have been switched over to different parentages or litters. This was done on purpose.**

* * *

The fresh scents of the forest hit her nose as she padded down the line of fences. Her human nose couldn't have been able to pick up the multitude of smells which assaulted her with every gust of wind, but she wasn't human right now. She was the cat she had always wanted to be, running free over the roof tops of houses in impossible mighty leaps and bounds. Hard black paw pads protected her from the rough surfaces.

She was in the body of her original character Foxtail, wearing it like a costume, as she dreamed of places far away from her broken home. She couldn't believe that her dream could be so vivid; it never had been before. But she wasn't going to question it. After all, why look a gift horse in the mouth?

She made another impossible leap off the roof of a building and landed neatly in a crouch on the top of a fence. She pushed herself to her paws, welcoming the feel of powerful muscles rippling under her fur and sun warming her dark fur.

The sun was high in the sky. Before her, a wall of green leaves and tree trunks ran parallel to the line of fences, blocking her view of the world beyond. She sat down and looked over the oaken fence, the kind with boards running down the center and a wall of wooden planks on only one side.

This wall was designed with the intent of keeping critters from getting into the garden. She couldn't help but feel proud she had managed to get on top of the fence. It felt good to have that small accomplishment under her belt.

 _As if they could keep me out!_ Her sun-gold eyes sparked with amusement. This was exactly how she imagined she'd be. She was Foxtail the warrior, running away from trivial domestic squabbles to save FoxClan from the evil forces of BloodClan! Or she was a medicine cat, bravely saving the Clan from previously unheard of diseases, searching far and wide for a cure!

 _I wonder what my dream is going to be like today,_ she mused, licking her reddish shoulder. Her large size and long head, rusted black-brown coat, plus the white on her toes and tail-tip and all along her underbelly and throat, made her look like a fox. She purred at her own disguise, wondering if a fox would mistake her for one of them instead of a cat. Probably not, she mused, simply because she wasn't at all as red as a fox, but it was nice to dream.

A rustling in the forest drew her gaze to the forest floor, her nose turned towards the wind, hoping for signs of prey. She was so focused on the forest that she barely twitched when a cat's meow sounded behind her. She jumped when the fence shook under her paws as a round plump tom joined her.

When the fence steadied under her, she turned with surprise towards the smaller black and white tom. She noted that half his face was a black smudge. He had a friendly but nervous grin on his face, worry lining his eyes.

"Sorry to startle you, miss!" he meowed. "My name is Smudge! Are you from another housefolk?"

He leaned close to sniff at her. She backed off, ears flat and fur fluffed up.

"I am not a-" she began, before remembering that yes she was a cat. "Oh, yeah," she said, forcing her fur to lay flat and flicking with her tail down the rows of houses. "I live with my housefolks down the street. I thought I should explore some of the neighborhood today."

"Nice to meet you!" he meowed, with a weary glance at the forest. "I've never seen you around before! Have you ever been out of your nest before?"

She couldn't help but smile. "This is my first time here, actually. Have you ever heard of a kittypet named Rusty?"

Smudge suddenly became very serious and very worried. "Yes, I have," he admitted. "He was my friend before he disappeared off into the forest two moons ago. He hasn't come back." His face fell before he forcibly brightened. "If you see him around the neighborhood, tell me, okay?"

She nodded, her gaze drifting out towards the forest. "Which way did he go?"

"He met a few feral cats before he left," Smudge meowed, looking at her with concern. "You're not thinking about going in there, are you?"

'Foxtail' laughed, her heart pounding in excitement. "You're kidding, right?"

"It's dangerous," he said, concern and anxiety making his fur fluff up. "There are feral cats out there! They will eat you alive!"

"Do you think he joined them?" she meowed, ignoring his words of warning.

Smudge looked at her, head tilted and tail wrapping around his paws like a hug. "I don't know. He said he was going to, but I don't know. They're dangerous and I haven't heard anything from him. He could be dead." He was quiet for a moment, studying her thoughtfully. "Are you thinking about joining them?" Smudge's voice became very tight. He whispered his next words, as if to himself. "You have the same look in your eyes as he did."

"Hey, I'll be able to find your friend," the fox-colored she-cat meowed, waving away his concern with her tail, "and _maybe_ I'll be able to bring back news of him."

"But it's dangerous out there!" he meowed. "You might never come back out again."

"Then I'll be careful," she meowed soothingly, excitement making her wish she was running through the forest. "Where's your sense of adventure, Smudge?"

Smudge shook his head and rose to his paws as if to follow as she leaped off the fence and took a few bold strides towards the forest. "They will kill you!" he hissed quietly, as if afraid that the feral cats would hear him.

"Sorry, sir," she meowed with a carefree wave of her tail, "but I gotta fly!"

She felt like she was flying. She pushed passed the scent line and entered the forest without any hesitation, racing towards where she hoped the camp would be. She felt like it was a dream come true, as if she could race into the camp and shout "I am Foxtail, warrior of SkyClan!" or something like that and except the other cats to just accept her. She could pretend for a moment she was a part of a whole family.

But ThunderClan would be suspicious, she thought to herself, if she showed up with a Clan name but smelled of rogue. She should pick a loner's name.

After a while, she came to a halt, panting, feeling her muscles ache from the flat out sprint. It felt like she had been running forever. When she looked around, she couldn't tell where she was or how far away from the twolegplace she had run. For all she knew, she could have accidentally crossed over RiverClan territory.

She sniffed the air and felt a prickle of anxiety. She had no idea where a ThunderClan patrol might be, and she couldn't smell the twolegplace or thunderpath. The great forest suddenly felt like a deathtrap, hiding dangers that she couldn't see or smell. For a second, she wondered if it was a good idea to join ThunderClan or to be out here in the forest at all. She could barely remember Smudge's warning, only the horror and concern in his mew.

 _ShadowClan might be more receptive to me,_ she thought, turning northward and padding more cautiously through the forest _._ Then she remembered what Smudge had said about how long his friend had been in the forest and tried to remember the timeline from the wiki. She shuddered at a realization. _I don't want to join ShadowClan while Brokenstar's in charge!_

She was hopelessly lost and had no idea how to get back to the twolegplace. Heading northward would more than likely make her cross paths with the thunderpath and she could follow that back to the twolegplace, but staying on the ground would make her susceptible to an attack from a patrol. She had no idea how to differentiate the smells of the forest with those of the forest cats. She was a sitting duck on the ground.

 _I need altitude,_ she thought. _ThunderClan doesn't travel by trees._

With renewed vigor, she threw herself up the trunk of a tree and clawed her way clumsily onto a tree branch. From her vantage point, she could see beyond the underbrush that might have hidden warriors from her view and see many foxlengths into the forest. There was a clearing up onto her left, southward of her position. She couldn't see the thunderpath anywhere.

 _That could be ThunderClan camp!_ she thought, excitement pulsing through her. She hesitated only briefly, a warning whispering through her mind telling her idea was dangerous and stupid. This would be her first and perhaps only chance to see how her subconscious saw the ThunderClan camp. Ignoring the warning, she bunched up her muscles and sprang into the next tree, quickly bringing herself closer to the clearing. Finally, she came to a halt.

It was a small clearing but completely devoid of cats. Her heart sank briefly before her attention focused on the only living creatures in the clearing. There was a big fox, possibly female, and three smaller foxes around her. They were trying to climb a tree, but they seemed unable to stay in the tree. One adventurous dogfox threw himself up to the lowest branch and then immediately overbalanced and fell back down. The largest fox watched them from the safety of a thick tree branch, obviously amused at them.

 _They're like one big happy family_ , she thought with a pang of homesickness and a sigh. _I wish my family was like them. Carefree, instead of serious and grim._

She shook herself, suddenly annoyed. _It's not like I'm stuck here,_ she told herself. _I can go back whenever I want!_

With a tired sigh and her mood effectively ruined, she settled down in the tree and watched the foxes, her gaze studying their stripe-less ginger coats, brown paws and ears, and white tail tips and muzzles. She noticed a flash of light on their ears and realized with a start that the mother fox had a tag in its ear. It was bright blue and stuck out like a sore thumb. The she-cat was surprised to see it.

 _Could a human be watching them right now?_ she wondered, glancing nervously around. What would they think if they saw her there with her unusual coat? Would they mistake her for a fox?

Suddenly, she didn't want to be a fox-colored she-cat, and she wished she was either a brown tabby or a red tabby. Preferably dark. She glanced over herself, and realized that beyond the dark red swirl in her side, she still looked very much fox-like. Her body was perhaps a bit thicker than a normal cats', stocky and built with power in mind. Her tail was shorter than average, with long fur, like a fox's bush tail. Any human who looked at her would probably not confuse her for a fox, but they'd know she was an unusual kind of cat and probably want to capture her as well.

She rose to her paws, anxiety prickling her stomach, and she leaped to the next tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of any twolegs that might be hiding in the forest but spotted a different kind of movement. A dark brown tabby tom was crouching and hiding half underneath a bush, his paw half raised in preparation for a charge. His eyes were pointed towards the foxes.

For a heartbeat, she was glad she was up in a tree; the tom would be unable to scent her on the winds and mistake her running around for a squirrel or some other tree-dweller landing on the branches. Then she realized that he was going to attack the fox and her cubs.

 _I have to stop him,_ she thought, but when she moved closer to the tree directly over him, she realized he wasn't the only tom there. Another tom, a black tabby, was crouched just around the corner. A third, a tan tabby with black stripes, was on the brown tabby's other side, his tail twitching eagerly. There was no telling how many more of them waited to pounce.

Feeling defensive of the foxes, she moved to the next tree and positioned to cross over to the tree the foxes were playing in. The big vixen turned toward her, her wide hazel eyes locking on to the she-cat's own sun-gold. The vixen yelped a warning and made to bound down the tree, where she would be better protected by her kits.

 _I need her to run,_ thought the she-cat. She could remember a few things about foxes, the only things she learned while during her time studying cats. They were skittish and tended to avoid a fight unless it meant a morsel of food. Bunching up her muscles, she lunged into the tree and used her momentum to bounded towards the vixen in a few powerful strides, shoving the vixen out of the tree. With a yelp, the fox landed on the ground, bouncing up to her feet and hobbled to the edge of the clearing, raising a paw as if it were injured.

 _Not good enough,_ she thought, ignoring the spike of guilt when she saw the injured appendage. _She needs to run! Now!_

Without waiting another second, she bundled up her muscles and leaped out of the tree, landing on one of the kits and giving it a bit on it's shoulder. It ducked out from under her and snapped at her shoulder, leaving teeth marks in her fur. The foxes had scattered, hovering at the edge of the clearing and away from the hiding tomcats.

But the she-cat had no idea where the rest of the patrol was, if there was more than three, and she knew if the foxes didn't run off now then they'd be forced into a fight they would rather avoid. Sucking in a deep breath and fluffing up all her fur, hoping to seem larger than the foxes themselves, she charged at the vixen and swiped at her, claws snagging and tugging on flesh. The vixen yelped and twisted to bite the cat's paw, but the she-cat had staggered backwards out of reach. She stared at the tiny spots of blood from the vixen's wounded side, shocked at herself and remembering too keenly the feel of flesh in her claws. When the vixen looked away from her, the she-cat remembered herself and hissed. The vixen's gaze snapped back to her.

 _There's no reason for you to stay!_ she thought, becoming desperate. She couldn't fight all four of them if the kits decided to get involved. _I've just injured your kit!_

As if to remind his mother of his presence, the injured dogfox whined, his expression angry and burning. The vixen looked at him and the she-cat saw the fox make up her mind. With a bark, the vixen turned and fled. The three kits took a heartbeat to follow.

" _ThunderClan!"_ yowled a very authoritative voice.

All around her, the forest came alive with cats. Five of them, having completely surrounded the clearing, emerged out of hiding and approached her. Suddenly terrified they'd attack her, she turned and raced up the tree the foxes had been playing in a moment before. She looked down at the warriors, tense and ready to swipe at them if they thought of climbing the tree. They surrounded the tree but remained on ground level.

The dark brown tabby and the black tabby were both there, almost shoulder to shoulder, and along with them was a yellow tabby, a tan tabby with black stripes, and a dusky brown tom with stripes on his paws and tail. They stared up at her with hostile or stern expressions.

"What are you doing out here, kittypet?" spat the black tabby, his dark gray coat and black stripes contrasting greatly with his sharp, yellow eyes. The she-cat guessed that he was Darkstripe.

From the safety of her tree, she found sudden confidence. "Kittypet must be a compliment," she said with a sneer. "I've never seen such a bunch of cowards in my life! What were you planning on doing to those foxes, huh? Kill them all?" She lashed her tail in disgust.

The black tabby's fur fluffed up in rage. "How dare you!" he snarled. "We are ThunderClan warriors!"

"Another word for coward, if you ask me," she meowed, adopting a mocking voice. "'Let's bloody up old vixen and three kits and make them no ran away. That good plan! ThunderClan so smart and brave!'"

"As if you're any smarter!" yowled the tan tabby. "You tried to take them all on by yourself!"

"And look how that turned out," she meowed. "I survived and you're still a coward."

"But you're the one stuck up in that tree!" meowed the tan tabby, looking pleased with himself.

The she-cat hissed at him. "You come up here and say that to my face, furbrain. Oh wait, if you did that then I'd knock you out of this tree. Then where'd you be? Back at the bottom, that's where!"

" _Kittypet_!" snapped the tan tabby.

"There you go using that word again," she meowed. "It must mean 'Greatest Fox Fighter Ever'! Obviously none of _you_ are worthy of this title."

The tan tabby tensed, as if preparing to spring up into the tree. The she-cat crouched, raising a paw to strike him, eyes narrowed as if daring him to to do it.

" _Enough!"_ yowled the yellow tabby tom, flashing a stern look at the tan tabby.

The tan tabby looked like a kicked puppy, and the dark red she-cat almost felt sorry for him. However, her attention quickly shifted to the yellow tom.

"Who are you?" he asked, "and what are you doing in ThunderClan territory?"

She raised her head, ready to introduce herself as Foxtail but then remembered that might be a bad idea. Her tail twitched as she thought of the next best name. "My name is Bark. I'm a loner, and I used to live in the twolegplace." She paused, thinking carefully about the rest of her answer. "It is no longer safe for loners in the twolegplace so I decided to move elsewhere."

"A she-cat shouldn't be wandering around the forest alone," meowed the dark brown tabby tom. He has a distinguished scar across his muzzle and he spoke in a calm, polite manner. "It could be dangerous."

Bark didn't like his choice of wording. "Is that a threat, tom?" she asked, her lips curling up but it paused, unsure of whether to be a sneer or a confused expression. "Because if you're the most dangerous thing out here, then I think I can handle myself." She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to do something. "Just come up here and let me show you."

The dark brown tabby flicked an ear but did not rise to the bait, his amber eyes staring into her sun-gold ones.

"Tigerclaw makes a fair point," meowed the yellow tabby tom. "You shouldn't have entered our territory."

"There are a lot of things I shouldn't have done," meowed Bark, "and a lot of things you shouldn't have done. That hasn't stopped us, now has it?"

"You should leave," meowed the yellow tabby tom. "We will escort you off our territory."

"Now wait just a second," meowed Bark. "What makes you think I won't just come back? I know how to avoid your patrols now, and I know how to get the upper paw against you if you decide to attack me. I could probably make a living in your treetops. There's a squirrel or two I could catch when you aren't around and I'm sure I could find an abandoned owl nest that could serve me just fine."

Tigerclaw snarled. "Are you making threats?"

"I'm pointing out a flaw with your plan," meowed Bark. "Now, on the other paw, I could probably be an asset to your little group. After all, you could probably use a brave cat that can handle four foxes all on her own."

"Don't assume anything about us," hissed the tan tabby, affronted. "We would have handled it fine without your help."

"She does make a good point, though," meowed the dusky brown tabby tom. He was obviously younger than the others, his head a bit too big for his frame. He looked at the yellow tabby expectantly. "And Bluestar has said before that she wished we had more warriors in the Clan. At least, Bark isn't a soft-hearted kittypet."

Bark found that statement ironic but kept her mouth shut as a spark of hope flickered in her chest. She felt excitement fill her paws.

The yellow tabby tom grew quiet and thoughtful. "Very well. We will take you to see Bluestar," he meowed.

Bark shook her head. "I don't trust you enough to escort me anywhere right now. How do I know you won't just escort me off the territory? Besides, if you knew half the things tomcat rogues would do to a molly like me, you'd understand why. I will wait here for your leader."

"You are in no position to make demands!" growled the tan tabby tom. "We have you surrounded."

"Fine, attack me. Let's see who has the upper paw when I'm done with you," snapped Bark, fur fluffed up. "Furbrain!"

"Quiet, Longtail," meowed the yellow tabby tom, practically glaring at the tan tabby this time. He looked up at Bark and said, "Very well. Longtail, Darkstripe, Dustpaw, head back to camp and tell Bluestar everything that has happened here. We will wait for her."

The black tabby, tan tabby and dusky brown tabby all began to slink towards the southern edge of the clearing. Bark watched them carefully, almost grateful that they were leaving. She would rather not occupy the same space as Tigerclaw and his three goons. After a while, Bark was left with Tigerclaw and the yellow tabby.

"So, you're Tigerclaw," she meowed, wondering if she should mess with his mind some before deciding against it. She looked down at the yellow tom. "What would your name be?"

The tom blinked up at her. "My name is Lionheart. I'm the deputy of ThunderClan."

"Ah," she meowed, suddenly feeling nervous for an entirely different reason. She wondered if she should move further along a branch so she could fall in between the two cats if Tigerclaw decided to take this as opportunity to kill the deputy. She padded up one branch.

"Don't try to make a run for it, she-cat," warned Tigerclaw, his lip curling in a sneer. "You won't get very far."

Bark halted along the branch and looked down at the two tense toms, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. If she had a chance to run, would she take it? She looked around the clearing and realized that, despite Tigerclaw's claim, she probably could make it out of there alive. She had the high ground, and all she had to do was move from one tree to the next, inching her way towards ShadowClan territory. Then, a bound across the thunderpath, and she be home free. Instead, she settled onto her branch, and pointedly licked her paw in a clumsy attempt to clean herself, watching the two toms below her.

After what felt like hours, Tigerclaw lashed his tail. "I need to make dirt," he meowed. "Can you handle her?"

"I can handle myself," meowed Lionheart.

Nodding, Tigerclaw padded into a bush and disappeared.

Bark's paws itched to move. _If Tigerclaw makes his move, I'll be ready,_ she told herself, tensing and preparing to spring. Lionheart was so focused on her that he couldn't possibly be able to tell if Tigerclaw was sneaking up behind him. Bark's nervousness grew. She waited so long that her body felt like it had turned into actual tree bark. She was relieved to hear the yowl of a patrol, and a heartbeat later Tigerclaw stepped out of the bushes.

"Took you a while," said Lionheart with obvious relief in his mew.

"I wasn't that far," Tigerclaw meowed in response.

The patrol poured into the clearing; a lithe blue-gray she-cat, a white tom and a young pale ginger she-cat. The blue-gray she-cat glanced up at her with icy-blue eyes before she looked at her deputy. Her very presence seemed to command authority.

"Lionheart, Tigerclaw," she said calmly to the two toms before turning to the she-cat in a tree. "Greetings. Bark, wasn't it?"

Before the face of such authority, Bark wasn't sure how to respond. She dipped her head hurriedly. "Yes, that's me." She twitched her tail nervously. "Are you their leader?"

She nodded. "Why don't you come down here so we can talk?" Her gaze flickered over Bark's body thoughtfully. "You're injured."

Bark almost did exactly that but halted, her claws digging into the tree branch. "You aren't going to ambush me, are you?" Bark glanced around at other trees she could make a break for, wondering which one would be a good place to make a last stand.

"Of course not," meowed the blue-gray she-cat. "We just want to talk."

Bark hesitated, her tail swishing softly behind her. She was torn between being safe and potentially joining ThunderClan. Then she remembered her early jab at the ThunderClan cats. _I'm no coward,_ she told herself, and bounded down the trunk.

The blue-gray she-cat looked much smaller up close. Either that, or Bark was a Maine Coon in comparison to a Russian Blue. Realizing that the ThunderClans weren't going to attack her yet, Bark sat down and curled her tail around her paws.

"My name is Bluestar, and I'm the leader of ThunderClan," the blue-gray she-cat meowed. "You've met my deputy, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw. This is Whitestorm and his apprentice, Sandpaw."

Bark dipped her head towards them politely. "So, am I your prisoner?"

Bluestar's whiskers twitched. "I was told you were interested in joining ThunderClan."

"Yes," she meowed, thinking she needed to cough up an explanation. "It's safer to be in a group these days."

Bluestar nodded thoughtfully, her eyes studying Bark's coat as if it might contain the secrets of the universe. Bark did not appreciate the scrutiny, more aware than ever how unusual her coat was.

"You are pretty relaxed around other cats to be a loner," meowed the white tom. "Were you in a group before?"

"Yes," meowed Bark. "My parents, siblings and I all lived together in the same nest."

Whitestorm nodded. "What happened to them?"

Bark hesitated, before deciding to go with the obvious answer. "They were taken away by twolegs. I haven't seen them since." She remembered the tag on the foxes and looked at Bluestar. "Bluestar, those foxes your warriors were about to fight, they'd been tagged by twolegs. I've seen the like on other animals before. Twolegs study them and watch them carefully. If your cats had ambushed them like they had planned, they'd have killed them and made the twolegs aware of your presence here. Then all the cats in the forest would be in danger."

"Why do you care so much about twolegs, _loner?_ " sniped Sandpaw, before the young pale ginger she-cat had a white tail put in her mouth.

Bark barely glanced at the young she-cat. "Twolegs don't even know there are cats out here. They don't like the idea of cats being anywhere around this area or in the twolegplace. I've seen cats get picked up off the streets, toms and mothers with kits, and they don't come back the same. Most of them lose their tomhood from the cutter, and the she-cats always come back without their kits if they come back at all." She knew that Bluestar would sympathize with those mothers; she counted on it. "I would rather not lose any of my kits to them if I can help it."

Bluestar seemed to relax, her icy-blue eyes turning warmer. "We would be glad to have another warrior with us, but being a warrior requires a commitment that most loners aren't prepared for. I'll give you a few days to decide if this is really what you want." She rose to her paws and gestured with her tail. "Come, our medicine cat can help you with that shoulder wound."

* * *

 **Last Edited: May 25, 2018  
**


	2. Into the Wild pt 2

It was an hour later when Bark padded through the bramble tunnel that served as the entrance to the ThunderClan camp and found herself staring around at a large clearing. To her own surprise, she couldn't tell the difference between the elder's den, the warrior's den, the medicine cat's den and the prisoner's den. Usually she had an omnipresent or omniscient understanding of the world around her in her dreams. It wasn't the first time this had happened in this dream, she realized with a sudden sense of dread, because she hadn't been able to figure out where the ThunderClan camp was and she wasn't even sure she could make her way back to the fox's clearing. Her inability to locate anything in the waking world seemed to have followed her to her dreams as well.

Thankfully, the camp had some very distinguished landmarks she recognized from the books that helped her to identify where some of the dens were. A big, flat stump was located at the entrance to the apprentice den, the same stump which Ravenpaw had triumphantly put his adder on after a semi-successful hunting trip in the first book. The Highrock towered over one half of the camp, and in its shadow was another den overgrown with lichen which could only belong to the ThunderClan leader. Finally, there was the slight dip in the ground filled with prey, predominately gray or red squirrels and small birds.

 _I'm really here_ , she thought, thinking she should be more excited than she currently was. The thought had instead brought a bit of unease into her mind, spoiling her mood. She tried to shake it off but it stayed.

There was, surprisingly, only around twenty to twenty-five cats in the whole of the Clan. At first glance, she thought that only half the Clan was present, but after a while she realized that there were only so many cats in the Clan. She had expected there to be many more, at least twice as many, but it was not so. She had never expected the Clan to be so small, with only twenty-five cats in total, not including the kits. There were six elders, four queens, five apprentices, one of deputy and leader and medicine cat, and seven warriors. They had all gathered around the camp, expectantly waiting for her arrival. She felt their eyes on her fur as she halted at the edge of the clearing.

"Sandpaw," meowed Whitestorm, "please take Bark to the medicine cat den."

The apprentice reacted with disgust, wrinkling her nose. "Why me? She stinks worse than a badger!"

"Sandpaw," said Whitestorm sternly.

" _Fine_ ," she meowed. "Come on, kittypet."

Bark flicked her ears in frustration at Sandpaw, but followed behind the she-cat. They were walking towards the entrance to a fern tunnel and Bark recognized it from the books. It was where Firepaw and Bluestar had a conversation there after Spottedleaf's death. She glanced around but couldn't figure out what the last three dens were.

"Great StarClan, even a snail is faster than you!"

Bark looked at Sandpaw, shocked at the younger she-cat insensitivity. Didn't the apprentice notice her wound? Bark sat down with a thud and stared angrily at the pale ginger she-cat. "Do you want me to be slower than a snail? Because I can be slower than a snail. Just wait for one to pass me."

Sandpaw's lip curled into a sneer and she whipped around to trot away. When she reached the fern tunnel, she glanced back and made a noise of frustration when she noticed Bark had not moved. They glared at each other for so long, Bark thought that the green leaves would turn orange. Finally, Sandpaw padded back over to her and sat down.

"Whenever you're ready," she meowed at last, begrudgingly.

Bark was relieved. "Thank you." She paused, opened her mouth to say something else but settled on; "I think I can walk a bit faster than a snail for now." She meant it jokingly but Sandpaw didn't find it funny. With a sigh, Bark followed her over to the fern tunnel.

"Here it is," meowed Sandpaw, gesturing with her tail at a dark tunnel. When Bark stepped up to it, a wall of herbal scent hit her and she instantly sneezed, backing away from the fumes. Her eyes watered, as if she had suddenly been hit with the worst allergies imaginable.

"I can't go in there," meowed Bark, aghast and her voice stuffy as if from a cold. "I can't breathe in there."

Sandpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Is the brave fox fighter afraid of a little smell?"

"Weren't you the one complaining about how I smelled like a badger?" Bark snapped back, very much not in the mood to take such foxdung from someone who was much younger than her. "You're such a stupid mouse, and here I was starting to think you were a cat! My mistake." She flicked her tail dismissively and half expected the apprentice to take that as her cue to leave. Lo and behold, it was not so.

Sandpaw growled at the dismissal and seemed to take it as a personal challenge to stay as long as she could tolerate it. She meowed loudly into the medicine cat den. "Spottedleaf! Some foxfaced ShadowClan reject is here to see you."

"She's not in camp, apprentice," rasped a she-cat.

Bark jumped and turned towards the dark shadow hiding beneath a bush not a foxlength away. Two narrow yellow flinty eyes stared back at her. If Bark's nose hadn't died from the medicine cat den, she might have detected a faint scent of marsh.

Sandpaw was obviously not pleased with this answer and snarled at her. "I wasn't asking you, fleabag."

Deciding that she had enough of Sandpaw's company, Bark was not so quick to dismiss the old gray she-cat. "Do you know where she's gone or, better yet, when she'll be back?"

The ragged gray she-cat snorted. "She's gone to collect herbs," she growled.

"Okay," said Bark, thinking that it could have been much worse and Spottedleaf could have died while no cat was looking. "I'm going to need something for this shoulder before it gets infected. You wouldn't happen to know any herbs, would you?"

The she-cat stared at Bark hard, as if her gaze could piece the flesh and see the bones underneath. Bark couldn't help the chill which went up her spine, the _knowing_ sensation which passed through her thoughts. The old she-cat recognized her. The longer she stared, the more Bark's fur felt like it was standing on end.

"Dried oak leaves," the old she-cat meowed finally. "Chew it up in a poultice and spit it on the wound." Having said her piece, she turned her back on Bark.

Bark knew she couldn't enter the medicine cat den without her nose dying again, so she turned to Sandpaw. The pale ginger she-cat realized exactly what was expected of her.

"No way!" she meowed. "I'm not fetching them for you!"

Bark's eyes narrowed and she couldn't hide her contempt. "You are _such_ an amazing apprentice. I'm sure you'll make a proud warrior, unwilling to fetch injured cats a few dried leaves. Your ancestors must be looking down at you with pride and awe as the greatest warrior who ever-"

"Shut up! I'll get you your stupid leaves!" barked Sandpaw, her fur spiked up and eyes flashing. She turned and marched into the medicine cat den, snapping over her shoulder with venom, "Foxface!"

An angry snarl spread over her face and she forced herself to glare at a grass stalk as she breathed through her nose to calm down. _Sandpaw,_ she thought crossly _, is even more infuriating in person._ She hoped that Sandpaw would at least be more tolerable when she became a warrior, and suddenly there was a part of her that thought Sandpaw deserved to have her warrior ceremony postponed. _It would be well deserved, the little mousebrain!_

When the pale ginger apprentice emerged, she headbutted Bark's chest and dropped the dried oak leaves at her paws. She glared up at Bark, reminding the ex-human that she was much bigger than the apprentice. "Here, _kittypet_. Is there anything else you want?"

At this moment, Bark wanted nothing more than to return 'kindness' with 'kindness'. She blinked innocently at her. "That depends. Since you love jawing maybe you could help chew up these leaves and spit it on my wound? Unless, of course, you're too stupid for a simple duty like that."

Sandpaw gritted her teeth and reached for the leaves, before realizing something. "You can do it yourself," she meowed. "I was only instructed to _escort_ you to the medicine cat den."

"You will make a proud warrior one day," Bark told her, mockingly sweet, as Sandpaw walked away. "I'm sure your mentor is proud that you can't even help a cat like me!"

Sandpaw's ears and tail flicked but she didn't turn around, grumbling to herself. Bark was torn between feeling extremely annoyed at Sandpaw's childishness or very disappointed that one of her favorite characters had tossed her aside based on something outside of her control. _If I was born in ThunderClan_ , _or another Clan_ , _she'd automatically have respected me._ Bark snorted to herself, suddenly finding herself disgusted with Sandpaw and the judgmental nature of the Clans.

Her gaze drifted to the dried oak leaves and she licked them up, her nose wrinkling at the disgusted taste and her eyes watering. She crunched the leaves up into pulp and spit it on her wound, ignoring the murmurings of the crowd which had gathered under the Highrock.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

The announcement had been entirely unnecessary beyond informing the Clan that Bluestar was ready to speak. Everyone became quiet and expectantly looked up at Bluestar, though some of the had already guessed what she was going to talk about and either looked resigned or annoyed. She could already hear the rumors, involving another "kittypet" becoming an "apprentice".

 _They're going to reconsider when they find out what I've done,_ she told herself, self-assured in her future accomplishment. Her gaze sought out Firepaw's, but the ticked-tabby tom was looking up at Bluestar. She watched him as Bluestar continued to speak.

"Cats of ThunderClan," yowled Bluestar, her calm gaze sweeping over the Clan. "As you well know, yesterday our warriors scented foxes on our territory. This morning, Lionheart led a patrol of warriors to push these foxes out of our territory. However, before he could move in to attack, a loner appeared and attacked the foxes. She was able to hold them off very well. As a result, the four foxes are no longer on our territory."

Bark felt her heart swell, pleased that Bluestar had painted her in a good light and she could feel that gazes of the other cats on her, looking at her with amazement and astonishment.

Bluestar continued, "Her name is Bark, and during the fight she was injured. So, to repay her for fighting off the foxes, we brought her back to our camp to be treated by out medicine cat. She has told us something very startling about the foxes that were on our territory. The twolegs have tagged them and are watching them carefully. If a tagged fox was found on our territory, dead, then the twolegs would know that we were here in the forest."

Bark could practically feel everyone's eyes on her as they erupted in to surprised meows and amazed yowls and she ducked her head, wishing she was hiding under a bush. She began licking more pulp into her wound, only to sneeze loudly. The sound caused a lot of cats to burst into amused purrs and she licked her chest, trying unsuccessfully to hide her embarrassment. Bark hoped she wouldn't start developing a permanent cold like Runningnose. Her eyes were watery.

"I've never heard of any cat taking on four foxes!" meowed an elder, a small-eared gray tom, looking at Bark with admiration.

"How did she managed to get on ThunderClan territory without anyone noticing?" meowed some cat else. "She must be a great hunter!"

"How long has she been on ThunderClan territory?" meowed Tigerclaw, looking at her with obvious contempt. "How much prey has she stolen?"

"Are you planning on turning her into an apprentice?" said some cat Bark couldn't see.

"I hope not!" said the unmistakable meow of Sandpaw. "She smells like crowfood!"

Bluestar gazed out over the Clan and raised her tail, and the Clan descended into silence. "She has also told me, Tigerclaw and Lionheart that loners and rogues are suffering at the paws of the twolegs in the twolegplace. Queens with kits and lone toms are being picked up off the streets and taken to the cutter. If the twolegs become aware of us, they will more than likely do the same to us."

The Clan yowled in horror at the news, giving Bark new looks of either pity or shock, as if expecting her to explain why this was happening or be sterile. Bluestar waited patiently for the yowls to die down before continuing.

"As a result of all this, Bark has asked to become a member of ThunderClan. She has expressed concern for her safety and realizes that we would protect any kits she has from the twolegs." Bluestar gazed around at the Clan. "She has a warrior's spirit and isn't afraid to fight four foxes at once." Bluestar hesitated, glancing at Firepaw. "I have decided to consider her request and will inform you all of my decision in a few days time. Until then, she will remain with Yellowfang in the prisoner's den." She jumped from the top of the Highrock and disappeared into the leader's den with Lionheart in tow.

That glance told Bark everything she needed to know - the Clan's prior murmurings cinched it. They were not a fan of Bluestar's decision to let Firepaw into the Clan and Bluestar was concerned that they'd reject Bark, or dislike Bluestar, on the same principles if she didn't explain her reasoning to the Clan first. _Why couldn't she have just done that for Firepaw in the first place?_ she thought, glancing at the Clan.

They were no longer hostile to her, that was for sure, looking at her with sympathy and understanding or admiring her size and apparent strength. She had earned the Clan's sympathy at least, perhaps some admiration as well for handling the four foxes on her own. They also seemed a little flattered that she had come to them for safety and aid, and the pride of this showed on their faces. This was not an instance of the Clan leader going to outsiders for help; this was an outsider coming to them for help. They were flattered by her presence, while Firepaw's presence had offended them.

Bark realized all of this while watching the reactions of the Clan and felt assured that the Clan would accept her as a warrior in little to no time. That buoyed her confidence and she turned towards where Yellowfang was hiding in the prisoner's den, proud of herself for multiple reasons, and she stepped into the den.

"I guess that makes you Yellowfang," she meowed to the back of the dark gray and ragged she-cat. "I'm Bark."

The dead silence which greeted this remark hardly affected Bark's mood. "You don't smell of ThunderClan. Did you come from another Clan?" she asked, ignoring the fact that she currently could not smell.

"I'm from ShadowClan," meowed Yellowfang at last, glancing sideways at the fox-colored she-cat.

"Do they live in the marsh?" asked Bark.

Yellowfang sighed. "Can't you find someone else to pester?"

"You're the only one here, so no," meowed Bark, amused. "Can you tell me how to become a warrior?"

"You are made an apprentice and pass a warrior's assessment," meowed Yellowfang.

"What do warrior's do?" asked Bark.

"They hunt and fight for the Clan," meowed Yellowfang, rolling over to look at Bark irritably. "Why do you care, kittypet?"

"I'm no kittypet," Bark meowed, her voice turning hard in her annoyance but not yet snappish. "I was a loner before coming here and a rogue before that." She flicked her tail in irritation, trying to think of a way to convince this cat she was no kittypet. "Would a kittypet take on four foxes by herself or run away from twolegs?"

Yellowfang's flinty yellow gaze stared hard at Bark. "I suppose," she meowed, a hint of humor in her voice. "Why do you want to be a warrior?"

Bark hesitated. "It's safer with other cats than to be alone," she reasoned. "Besides, I need cats who will feed me when I have kits. You won't find that outside of a Clan."

Yellowfang frowned. "You just want to have kits here then?"

"No," said Bark, "but if I do have kits, I'd rather not have them while I'm trying to flee twolegs."

Yellowfang grunted her understanding. Bark felt a small amount of relief that Yellowfang wasn't going to question her any further. She padded around the den only to realize that she would have make her own nest. She padded out of the prisoner's den, hoping to find a queen or apprentice who could help her. The camp was mostly deserted beyond a few cats eating a couple of mice and sharing tongues. Eventually, Yellowfang started yowling for food, and Bark was unable to hang around the prisoner's den without her ears falling off. She padded up to the fern tunnel leading into the medicine cat den and settled down beside the entrance.

Bark recalled what Smudge had said about Firepaw, how he had been missing for two moons. He wouldn't become a warrior until his third moon or his fourth, but Bark wouldn't out it passed Bluestar to make him a warrior as soon as possible just so she can ensure he is ready to be made deputy before she dies. As thoughts of the deputy position filled her mind, she turned her attention to Tigerclaw. The dark brown tabby was almost black, except for his chocolate undercoat which made his black stripes visible. He was truly a dark warrior and, except for his stripes and darker coat, was perhaps the spitting image of his father.

She couldn't help her tail from lashing. She was perhaps two and a half moons away from becoming a warrior herself while Firepaw was only one away. During that time, Lionheart's position as deputy was being threatened by a very dark shadow that was hungry for power. Bark couldn't imagine what Ravenpaw must be feeling at that moment, knowing that this murderer – his mentor – was still stalking around the camp.

 _Once I'm made a warrior,_ she told herself, _I'm going to make Tigerclaw regret ever being born._

It was sometime around dusk when a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat emerged from the bramble tunnel into the camp, a bundle of herbs in her jaws. Bark was bored from sitting down at the medicine cat entrance, partially dozing off, when Spottedleaf walked into the camp carrying a bundle of herbs. Lionheart was the second cat to spot her and immediately rushed to her side, directing her to Bluestar's den. Confused, Bark sat back impatiently waiting for Spottedleaf to show up again.

It felt like hours had passed before the medicine cat re-emerged and began padding up the hill to the den... and continued walking passed Bark as if she wasn't even there. The fox-colored she-cat rose to her paws expectantly and turned to look inside of the den, recoiling when she accidentally got a whiff of the smell. It was something, she realized, eye watering, she was going to have to get used to and learn to use.

Spottedleaf padded out of the den seconds later with a dock-leaf wrap in her jaws, which she dropped at Bark's feet. The black-orange-and-white she-cat looked up at her, her amber eyes warm. Bark noted that she had a triangular, but she couldn't see her as being pretty. Well, she was pretty in the same sense that every other cat was pretty and she pretty in the sense she was both elegant and regal. She was like a princess walking around soldier boys.

"Eat two of these poppy seeds," she meowed. "Your wound will heal in a day, but try not to strain your shoulder until then."

"Okay, thanks," meowed Bark. "Spottedleaf, did Bluestar say anything to you about me joining ThunderClan?"

Spottedleaf narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, looking Bark up and down with a sudden seriousness that it made a shiver go down her spine. "In a sense," she relented. "Though I doubt your heart truly belongs in ThunderClan."

Bark nodded gratitude and picked up the leaf-wrap to carry to the prisoner's den and realized after a heartbeat of silence that Yellowfang had stopped yowling for freshkill and was watching the other side of the camp with interest. Bark put her leaf-wrap down and looked out over the camp only to see a very silvered gray tom hurry across the camp towards her with a piece of prey in his mouth. The amused look in his eyes, like he cared very little about being caught by Tigerclaw, remained transfixed on his face as he padded over to drop the freshkill – a thrush – and dropped it at her paws. Bark recognize Graypaw right away.

"Uh, Tigerclaw said you would need this since you hadn't eaten anything all day," he said at last.

Bark wondered, for a brief second, how Tigerclaw knew she hadn't eaten anything all day and noted with a glance out the prisoner's den that the dark warrior was watching her. "Thank you, sir," she meowed, politely. "Could you ask one of the queens to help me with my nest?"

Graypaw shrugged. "Okay," he meowed before padding away to the nursery. Bark blinked at the distinct dark stripe down his backside on an otherwise pale gray pelt, the very stripe which would earn him his name.

She shook her head and, remembering how cats ate prey, began to chew the thrush whole. It tasted like dust and dirt, but the moment her tongue hit the muscles underneath, she felt like she was eating the best tasting three course meal in her life. Her stomach growled in appreciation as she ate the feather, bones and fur. She vomit up the inedible bits later and bury it – as all cats did – and her jaws would be all the stronger for it.

A golden silvered tabby she-cat stepped into the prisoner's den a few minutes later. "Hello, Bark," she greeted.

Bark stopped chewing and looked up at the she-cat with surprise. "Uh, yes," she said, "I was hoping you might be able to help me build a nest."

The queen nodded. "Have you ever gathered moss before?"

"Not really," said Bark, and she left what remained of her freshkill behind as she followed the queen to the edge of the clearing. "What's your name?"

"Goldenflower," she meowed. "I have to admit, you look much older than a kit. You almost look like a fox."

For the first time, Bark wondered what she must have looked like to the cats around her. She knew her design was based off black or dark brown cats who rusted with age. She had a very reddish underfur which turned her shoulders, sides, tail and haunches red when she moved, but was otherwise a dark brown with white underbelly, cheeks, throat and paws – like a fox. She didn't know about her face and guessed it had some white and was mostly either dark brown or sable. Her eyes, however, were sun-gold. She noted, with a bit of surprise, that she stood a least an inch taller than Goldenflower and had broader shoulders.

"I might be a full twelve moons," Bark said, shrugging. She had been well over sixteen when she a twoleg. "I honestly don't keep track of that kind of thing."

"Well, it's always nice to have another she-cat around who cares about our kits," said Goldenflower. "Perhaps you'll be made an apprentice around the same time as my kits. They are a moon away from being apprentices. Brightkit and Swiftkit would be looking forward to it."

"How big are your kits?" Bark asked, imagining kittens half her size.

"A tail's width shorter than me," said Goldenflower, her fur fluffing up in pride. "I can't wait to see them become warriors! Oh, here's the moss."

Bark watched as Goldenflower carefully peeled a layer of moss off with her claws and tries to copy it, careful to prevent any splinters from the bark under it from collecting with the moss. After carefully rolling the long patches of moss into balls, they both turn back to the prisoner's nest.

"Are you thinking about returning to the warrior's den?" Bark meowed, looking expectantly at Goldenflower.

"No," said Goldenflower, obviously conflicted.

Bark decided not to ask about that and turned her attention to another question, "What does a warrior do?"

"They fight to protect the Clan with their life," meowed Goldenflower, "and hunt for the Clan so we don't starve. The queens, kits and elders are all fed first, too."

Bark nodded, but she was really only half listening. If anyone asked her where she learned the warrior code from, she wanted to be able to list names she heard something or other from and they'd feel satisfied at that. "Warriors fight to the death, then."

"Yes," said Goldenflower. "Well, we don't try to kill each other, but sometimes it's necessary for self-defense."

Bark nodded. They reached the prisoner's den and Bark and Goldenflower put down the moss balls.

"Do you need anymore help?" Goldenflower asked.

Bark shook her head, carefully laying out the moss with her five-toed paws. "Thanks, Goldenflower."

The thrush had vanished since she had left it and she guessed Yellowfang had eaten and buried the remains. Bark settled down on her mossy nest and was reminded instantly of her mattress at home. The sounds of the wind through the trees reminded her of the loud fan in her room which always helped her fall asleep at night. Closing her eyes, she found herself quickly falling asleep.

A shifting in the nest beside her and a yowl alerted her to Yellowfang being awake. She was able to mostly doze through the yowling, as Yellowfang demanded that that little ginger kittypet come over here and stuff some squirrel down her mouth _right now_ or StarClan help her he will never have kits. Bark couldn't help but purr at her. After she had quieted down and probably been fed, Bark uncurled from her nest and looked over to see her happily munching down on a prime mouse.

"Yellowfang," she meowed, "can I ask you some questions?"

Unhappy with not being able to immediately have another nap, Yellowfang gave her a dirty look before mumbling grumpily to herself.

Bark took that as a "go ahead" and she worded her question carefully. "You seem a bit too scarred for a medicine cat. Were you a warrior before that?"

Yellowfang nipped her own shoulder, as if biting at a flea. "It was my destiny to become a medicine cat."

"Okay," Bark said, realizing that getting information from the old she-cat anything might very well be next to impossible. "Do you miss the warrior life?"

"No," Yellowfang said with a snort. "Too many furbrained cats in the den. Couldn't find a good spot of moss."

Bark couldn't help the purr of amusement. "How did you become a warrior and then a medicine cat?"

"You become an apprentice first," meowed Yellowfang. " _Again_ , if you were a warrior once already and want to become a medicine cat. A warrior passes down all they know down to you, and then when you stop needing to ask questions, you become a warrior. If you are a medicine cat apprentice, you will remain an apprentice until your mentor is dead."

Yellowfang wasn't looking at Bark, her blank gaze having settled on four kits who were playing around in the sun. Bark recognized the gray pelt of the future medicine she-cat, Cinderpelt, among them. "A warrior protects the Clan, even at the cost of his or her own life," Bark murmured to herself.

Yellowfang flicked her ears as if swatting away an annoying fly. "A medicine cat communes with StarClan and learns how to treat wounds so we can heal the injured and the sick."

Bark nodded, growing quiet. "Do you miss your kits?"

Yellowfang hissed, sneering down at the kits. Bark wasn't fooled for a second.

"Are medicine cats not supposed to have kits?" she meowed, her voice innocent but her eyes were narrowed and probing.

Yellowfang shook her head and laid down to sleep. "Go bother some cat else."

Feeling guilty for poking Yellowfang's sore spot, Bark looked around at the camp outside the prisoner's den, hoping that something interesting might happen. She tried looking for Tigerclaw, but she couldn't see him. She licked her shoulder, which had dried overnight and scabbed, and wondered if she looked exactly like Pinestar might have, minus the white. Her paws felt restless again and she shifted on the moss bed.

"An _adder_!" yowled the gray apprentice.

Bark turned her head towards the three apprentices who had arrived through the bramble tunnel. Tigerclaw looked furious as he made his way to the leader's den. Bark felt her fur rise as she recognized the scene. She was about to say something to Yellowfang but realized that the gray she-cat wouldn't appreciate her being woken up from her sleep. Instead, she sat back and watched as Tigerclaw padded to the leader's den to tell Bluestar about Smudge.

 _Well, he knows Firepaw is okay now,_ she thought, amused. _Now I don't have to tell him._

But now she was confused. Why would Tigerclaw care that Bluestar know about this? Was he trying to rub it in her face that she made a huge mistake with Firepaw? That seemed like something Tigerclaw would actively avoid trying to do, especially if he wanted to be deputy of the Clan after Lionheart.

Tigerclaw emerged from the leader's den looking smug and escorted Firepaw to Bluestar, only to be kicked out afterwards. Looking disgruntled, he padded away to grab a piece of freshkill and settle down in a position where he could see the entrance. Bark watched Tigerclaw as Tigerclaw pretended not to be watching the leader's den. They waited so long that Tigerclaw had finished his freshkill and was licking himself clean of blood a little too thoroughly.

When Firepaw finally emerged, Tigerclaw waited a few moments before he stood up and pretended to go about his duties. Bark noticed that he kept his gaze on Firepaw at all times, watching the red tom.

A chill went up her spine when those amber eyes briefly and accidentally looked at her and, for a moment, it seemed like they were both staring into each others soul. Tigerclaw was angry, an anger that was so deep down in his core that it seemed to reside at the edge of hell itself, and Bark knew that he could see that same anger inside of her, buried so deep that Bark herself had forgotten it was there. For a moment, Bark felt like some unknown force had connected them and intertwined their destinies together, pushing them in a direction she was not sure she wanted to go.

Then Tigerclaw turned away and the feeling was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: I quoted a couple of passages and dialogue in this chapter from _Into the Wild._ I don't intend to follow the book's plot word-for-word, though you might see some of their story still play a part here. I intend to stay as original as possible. **

**_Into the Wild_ and all canon characters belong to Erin Hunter.**

 **Last Edited: June 28, 2017**


	3. Into the Wild pt 3

It was dawn when Bark padded out of the prisoner's den at the sound of birds chirping high up in the branches. She longed to be up in the trees, hunting the noisy featherbrains, leaping gracefully from one tree to the next. She doubted any of the ThunderClan cats could follow her without risking their own harm.

She spotted Tigerclaw taking three familiar apprentices out of the bramble tunnel and itched to follow, an uneasy feeling settling in her pelt at the thought of Tigerclaw being alone with them. But this was one of those times when Bark would not want to be away from the camp. If ShadowClan even caught a whiff of Bluestar's scent on the moor, ShadowClan might use it as an opportunity to attack the camp.

 _That's what I'm guessing happened in the book_ , she reasoned as she snagged a squirrel off the freshkill pile. The food tasted better than mouse and filled her belly more, as long as no one convinced her to share with them.

Suddenly, the yellow tabby tom who was deputy of ThunderClan padded towards her, his powerful muscles rippling under his fur. "Bark," he meowed in greeting. "Would you like to see what our apprentices are doing?"

Bark's ears swiveled forward eagerly. "Of course, I'd love to."

Lionheart nodded and lead the way to the Sandy Hollow. Bark was surprised to feel the ground was soft and cushioned under her paws; perfect for training. The hollow itself looked like an old dried out pond, one that was man made and had long ago been forgotten. It was no longer deep enough to hold water; the entire hollow had mostly become flat with slight slopes leading down into it and large rocks surrounding it.

Tigerclaw was seated on a rock overlooking the three apprentices, meowing, "-again! and again!-" over and over again as the apprentice's drilled. Lionheart explained.

"We train our apprentices to fight and hunt," he meowed. "Right now, they are performing the rear-up and slash maneuver for."

"Cats who are leaping down at them," meowed Bark, remembering reading about the maneuver on the wiki. "A cat leaping down may have the advantage of being on higher ground, but a maneuver like that would quickly turn the tide of battle if they aren't prepared for it."

Lionheart lashed his tail, pleased. "Exactly."

Bark watched the practicing cats, studying their postures and noting how wild some of their swings were. She could tell right away when one of the cats performed the move perfectly; they were steady and smooth in their strike, perfectly balanced thanks to their tail, and their claws flashed out of their sheaths. Bark suddenly felt a prickle of anxiety. _I've never done anything remotely like that in this body before!_ she thought, distressed.

"I'd like to see you perform the move," meowed Lionheart.

Bark hesitated briefly before sitting down and looking around, trying to imagine the threat before her. She reared up and unbalanced right away, falling forward. Lashing her tail in surprise, Bark hesitated briefly before rearing up with more vigor and slashed the air with her claws. She knew right away that she had preformed the move incorrectly and did it again, feeling her body repeat the motion.

"Not bad," meowed Lionheart. "You're a natural."

Pleased with the praise and glad she wasn't a total loser when it came to using her body properly, Bark reared up again and imagined she was slashing at the face or belly of a falling cat. For a heartbeat, she imagined the cat to be Scourge, the black tom with a single white paw and dogteeth studded collar. She sank gracefully back down on her forepaws.

"Perfect," meowed Lionheart. "You'll make a great warrior."

Bark purred at the praise and wondered if she should keep doing it. "Lionheart, what can you tell me about the Warrior Code?"

Lionheart pondered the question. "It's a code that is meant to help guide us and protect us from outside enemies, even other Clans. Without the warrior code, we would not protect our elders and queens and kits, and we would not be in commune with StarClan. We would just be any other bunch of rogues." Lionheart looked at Bark hard. "It is hard work to follow the warrior code, but because of it we all are much stronger for it."

"I don't doubt it," said Bark, watching the apprentices train. "Most rogue groups wouldn't waste their time training new cats; if you weren't strong enough to survive on your own than you would be caste out. My mother and father were not like that. They had their disagreements, but making sure that we survived mattered more to them than loyalty to any rogue group." She sighed, remembering her human parents.

They were basically divorced except on paper and fought over everything from money to housing whenever she wasn't around. They only seemed to agree to never abandon their sole daughter, but sometimes Bark had wished they would have. They smothered her, always trying to over saturate what little time they shared with her with as many parties as possible, as if they were doing it merely to compete with each other.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the present, trying to ignore the sudden homesickness which made her heart heavy. "Maybe we should go catch some prey?" she asked, suddenly wanting to do something to avoid thinking about them.

Lionheart frowned to himself, putting a comforting tail tip on her shoulder. "We have all lost family," he meowed solemnly. "Our previous deputy, Redtail, died just two moons ago while defending our borders from RiverClan." His gaze drifted to Tigerclaw. "He died fighting a RiverClan warrior."

Bark nodded gently, remembering the story Tigerclaw had shared with the cats in the book. "I see," she meowed.

"I was surprised when Bluestar picked me to be her deputy," meowed Lionheart. "Everyone thought Tigerclaw would be chosen. She talks to him about things I'm not privy to." He licked a paw thoughtfully.

"Maybe she just doesn't want another deputy to die on the border," meowed Bark. "Maybe she thought you'd be less likely to try and attack RiverClan at Sunningrocks."

Lionheart licked his chest, his gaze suddenly worried. "She's always been avoiding that border," he meowed finally. "Ever since her kits died..."

Bark wondered if Lionheart thought that Bluestar's kits might not have died. She sank her claws into the sand and felt her lip start to curl in anger, remembering the first time she had read Bluestar's Prophecy. _How could you abandon your kits, Bluestar!? You killed Mosskit!_

Bark didn't think Thistleclaw would have made a terrible leader. He was bloodthirsty, sure, and he lived as he died, defending his Clan's territory with his life. He might have had the shortest leadership ever because of his nature, but Bark was convinced he would have brought no harm to the Clan. He had been loyal to it until the day he died, yet somehow he was in the Place of No Stars. Bark was furious with Thistleclaw.

 _You should never have had those kits in the first place, Bluestar!_ she thought savagely. _You're stupidity cost Mosskit her life!_

Bark had felt betrayed when she had learned Bluestar had sent away her kits so she could be leader. It had always sounded like Bluestar should have never had those kits to begin with – that hadn't seemed like something her character would do in the first two books. Bark had wanted Bluestar to be punished for having those kits, the same way Mapleshade had been punished for having her kits. At least Mapleshade hadn't killed her kits for power! _And then Bluestar has the gall to believe that Tigerclaw, apprentice to Thistleclaw and self-proclaimed murderer of her mate, would not betray her!_

Bark felt that if she looked the word 'stupid' up in the dictionary, a bunch of warrior cats would be there, with Bluestar at the top of the list.

"Bark," meowed Lionheart, "let's see if we can find anything to hunt."

Sighing, Bark padded up the slope towards Lionheart and walked shoulder to shoulder with him. "Can you show me the mouse and bird technique again?" she asked, "I want to at least have those perfected before Bluestar decides I can be an apprentice."

* * *

 _"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"_

Bark turned with excitement towards the call and padded out of the prisoner's den. Dusk had fallen over the Clan.

"As you well know, the Gathering is three nights away," Bluestar began, "and two of our apprentices have been training for longer than four moons. Dustpaw and Sandpaw are more than ready to be made into warriors, but they have yet to complete the last part of their training. Therefore, tomorrow, I will be taking them to the Mothermouth with Mousefur. Spottedleaf will prepare the herbs and they will rest tonight in preparation for the journey."

"What is the Mothermouth?" asked a soft-spoken flame-colored tom in the back row.

Bark snorted at Firepaw and turned away. He had been an apprentice for around two or more moons and hadn't yet asked where Spottedleaf went every half-moon? Bark padded over to her nest and noted that Yellowfang was asleep, or at least she was pretending to be. She had finished the second meal Bark had fetched for her and hadn't bothered to bury the remains. With a sigh, she padded out of her nest to bury the remains.

When finally settled down to rest to rest, she realized that something was wrong. Dustpaw and Sandpaw didn't go to the Mothermouth until after Ravenpaw, Graypaw and Firepaw did. Bark couldn't help the surprised appreciation she had for this different Bluestar; the other one would have favored Firepaw and pushed for him to be made a warrior earlier. _Or perhaps she's doing this to impress him,_ she thought with a touch of jealousy, _I doubt she is doing this to impress me._

Bark wished she had not asked Bluestar if she could join ThunderClan if only because it might have given Bark a reason to not be jealous of Firepaw. Instead, Bluestar seemed to be doing it for the express purpose. _This is what you are going to become,_ said Bluestar's voice in her head. _This is the honor we will give you if you learn the warrior code and be good for the Clan._

The sound of voices outside of the den made Bark prick up her ears. She recognized both voices but couldn't place them. When she opened her eyes and looked towards the medicine cat den, she realized without needing to look around the corner that it was Dustpaw and Sandpaw.

"I hope she's planning to make Bark an apprentice," meowed Dustpaw. "It will be good for ThunderClan to have a real warrior like her."

There was obvious disgust in Sandpaw's voice. "She's slower than a snail! She probably couldn't even catch a mouse."

"She's almost as big as a fox," said Dustpaw. "And she can be trained. Besides, I'm glad we're going to be warriors before that kittypet!"

Sandpaw growled. "Don't remind me of him _."_

Bark closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She couldn't help but wonder if this Sandpaw would grow up differently than the canon one had, just as Bluestar was different from her canon version. If she didn't change her mind when she became a warrior, she would have to when Firepaw became Firestar. The warrior code demands that the leader be respected no matter what. _It's a stupid code_ , she thought. _If it didn't exist, ShadowClan would have driven Brokenstar out the moment he started enforcing his law over them._

Bark could almost hear the sound of a fan running in her room, lulling her to sleep with the noise, but when her eyes blinked open all she could hear was the sound of the wind rushing through the trees. It was still dark out, except an unusual mist had fallen over the whole camp.

 _Not the camp,_ she realized, _a clearing._

The prisoner's bush was gone and she standing in a clearing where only the warm twinkling stars shone brightly overhead. She realized that StarClan was sending her a sign.

"Where are you?" she meowed aloud.

There was the distant sound of something or some cat but then there was silence. She blinked and warm beams of sunlight slanted through the tree tops above the camp. She was curled up under the bush that served as the prisoner's den. For a heartbeat, she was disappointed.

 _Maybe it's a sign that I'm destined to stay here and make a home for myself,_ she thought, brightening up. _Or perhaps that it's my destiny to change that stupid rule._

She stretched and prodded Yellowfang's side, not bothering to be polite since she could never tell when Yellowfang was pretending or not. "Do you want something to eat?"

The old grey she-cat was so quiet Bark almost thought she had fallen asleep. "Get me a mouse."

Bark nodded and quickly fetched her one, grabbing another for herself. After a while, Bark stood outside of the entrance to the prisoner's den, watching the Clan like an outside observer. They moved around the camp like the cogs of a well-oiled machine, fully aware of their roles and duties and intent on completing them. It was easy to tell when Firepaw was in camp and when he wasn't and not just because of his bright orange coat. In a strange way, it was also easy to tell when Tigerclaw was in camp. Everyone seemed to pause and recognize his presence, just as they would completely ignore Ravenpaw, often greeting him with a meow, and because they did that he seemed to fit in better with the Clan. However, Tigerclaw was like a flying fish jumping up out of the water; occasionally he blended in with the other cats but sometimes he would stand out like a sore thumb due to his presence. The cat seemed to be constantly aware of this and used it to his advantage, but Bark was becoming increasingly more aware of the pattern as sunhigh approached. She found herself glancing at him even when he was blending in with the rest of the fish, and she became aware that he was watching her as well.

She couldn't see Dustpaw, Mousefur, Sandpaw or Bluestar in camp and guessed that they had left long before she had woken up. Graypaw, Ravenpaw and Firepaw were usually in camp but when they left they always returned with a piece of prey. Bark itched to join them, to talk with them as a fellow apprentice.

 _I should join a patrol,_ she thought, looking for Lionheart. _Maybe a hunting patrol, so they think I intend to feed the Clan while I'm here._

Plan in mind, she spotted the yellow tabby and padded over to greet him. "Hello, Lionheart!" she said, and he looked at her with surprise. "I wanted to ask if I could go on a hunting patrol, if you don't think it will be much trouble."

Lionheart's tail tip twitched in thought. "Actually, I was thinking about going on a hunting patrol myself," he said. "If you are going to be a member of ThunderClan, we would need to know how much you know about hunting."

"Not much of anything, I'm afraid," she meowed. "As Sandpaw would probably tell you." She smiled when Lionheart twitched his whiskers in amusement at her joke. "But I am a quick learner."

Lionheart nodded. "I'll wait for the morning hunting patrol to get back, then I'll signal you."

Excitement prickled her pelt as she hurried back to the prisoner's den and settled down for sunhigh. Bark kept her gaze on Lionheart, wondering what the signal might be. A group of cat returned from a patrol, but because they didn't carry any prey she knew they weren't the hunting patrol she was waiting on. She glanced up at the sky, and wondered how long it would take for the patrol to return and get ready.

When the sun had reached its zenith, the hunting patrol showed up. Each cat had a mouthful of prey, including Ravenpaw and Firepaw, and they quickly deposited it and moved on to apprentice's den. Tigerclaw walked up to Lionheart before grabbing something to eat. Lionheart glanced up at her and gestured with his tail, and with a surge of excitement she bounded after him.

She noted that she was slightly taller than the deputy of ThunderClan at the shoulder, and she wondered briefly if she might actually be adult-sized... and therefore older than twelve moons. Brushing that thought aside, she meowed a friendly greeting to the brown tabby who waited for them at the entrance. He had a narrow back, chocolate stripes and light brown fur, with yellow eyes.

"This is Brownfoot," meowed Lionheart. "We call him Runningwind."

Bark blinked in surprise. "Oh?" she meowed, curious. "Why do they call you that?"

Runningwind smiled. "Because I'm as fast as the running wind."

Bark's whiskers twitched. "A very apt name, then."

"Let's go," meowed Lionheart with a commanding flick of his tail.

The deputy padded through the bramble tunnel and into the ravine. Bark followed after him and Runningwind was a pawstep behind her. Bark padded up so she was walking shoulder-to-shoulder beside Lionheart. Lionheart cut a path through the forest to the southeast, and they didn't stop until they reached a small gravely path and the last remaining pine trees in the whole forest.

"This is Tallpines," meowed Lionheart, halting the patrol with his tail. "There isn't much prey around here so it's a good place for some practice." He turned to Runningwind. "Head a bit north and try to catch a few. I'm going to teach Bark a few hunting techniques."

Bark flicked her ears in surprise, watching Runningwind nod and disappeared. She waited patiently for Lionheart to begin the impromptu lesson.

"First, let me show you how to stalk a mouse," he meowed, crouching down. Bark laid down and looked over the crouch, paying special attention to how he placed his paws. She copied the starting position as best she could and waited for Lionheart to finish padding a circuit around the tiny clearing.

"Now," he said, padding over and looking at her crouch. "That looks pretty good. The technique is to keep your paws as light as possible. A mouse will be able to sense your vibrations before they see you."

 _A mouse can hear me before they see me, too,_ thought Bark, her whiskers twitching. She stayed in the crouch as she moved, moving carefully over fallen pine needles. She made one lap around the small clearing before stopping, looking expectantly at him.

"Very good," he meowed. "You have a hunter's instinct."

Bark couldn't help but purr at the praise. "What now?"

Lionheart's whiskers twitched. "Do it again."

Bark nodded and crouched again, trying to remember it, before sliding forward smoothly across the pine needles. She was keenly aware of Lionheart watching her and wondered if she was stepping her paws incorrectly. It felt the same as before but now she felt like it was wrong, somehow. She tried to correct her stance midstep and found she no longer had any balance. She stopped, grimacing at her flub.

"Uh, sorry," she meowed. "Can you show me it again?"

Lionheart tilted his head thoughtfully. "You were perfect the first time, Bark. I don't think showing it to you again is necessary. Be more confident about your pawsteps this time."

Bark resettled into a crouch but she knew instantly her balance was off. She tried to shake off her self-doubt and shifted her shoulders and haunch until she felt like her balance had been restored. After a few pawsteps, she corrected herself again and was padding around the little clearing smoothly. She stopped at her starting point and looked questioningly at Lionheart.

"Perfect," he meowed. "Well done, Bark."

Bark warmed at the praise. "Again?"

Lionheart nodded, and Bark started again, this time feeling more confident in herself. After another two laps, Lionheart decided to teach her how to hunt birds. When she had made three perfect laps around Lionheart, he decided that she was done training for the day.

"Now, use your skills to hunt around here. We can head a bit north and west where there's more prey."

Bark nodded, realizing that he hadn't want her attempts at stalking to disturb the prey if she had turned out terrible. Feeling proud of her small accomplishment, she made her way northward but Runningwind suddenly appeared to stop them both.

"Lionheart," he meowed, glancing at Bark. "I've scented a couple of rabbits in a hollow nearby."

Lionheart blinked in surprise. "They didn't notice you?"

Runningwind flicked his ears. "They didn't seem to care I was there and I'm sure they heard me."

"How big was the group?" asked Bark.

"About four or five individuals, maybe more," meowed Runningwind. "I'm gonna need some help catching them."

"There's a rise nearby we can chase them to," meowed Lionheart. "If Bark and I hide at the top, we can jump down on them when you chase them into it." He looked at Bark. "Are you ready, Bark?"

Bark nodded, eager to kill her first piece of prey. "I was born ready."

Lionheart nodded and gestured with his tail for her to follow before he adopted a crouch and padded away to the east. Bark mimicked the crouch as best she could and padded after him, her eyes watching his tail tip while sniffing for the scent of rabbit. A brief gust of wind carried it into her mouth. She had never smelled one this clearly before, mostly because her human nose couldn't have appreciated the smell before. Her mouth watered at the delicious smell of living prey, but she clamped it shut.

She felt the ground tilted up through her paws. Lionheart paused and gestured for her to stop, nodding off to their left before padding forward. She slid under a bush and looked out, noticing that the ground sloped down sharply before her into a small rise. The clearing was two fox lengths across and about big enough for six startled rabbits to be herded into without crowding.

A sudden yowl filled the sky and made Bark's fur stand on end but she stayed still. A rush of solid brown-and-white fur and startled squeaks filled the clearing. Two fast-paced rabbits burst out of the bushes and into the trap, throwing themselves against the slope and quickly losing momentum as they tried to scale it. They refused to fall back down, however, struggling to dig in their claws and climb. Two more rabbits burst into the clearing after them, not able to make it as far up the slope and were quickly being pulled back down by gravity. The moment Runningwind emerged to block the exit, Bark prepared herself to pounce. At a yowl from Lionheart, she lunged for the nearest rabbit, striking out at it with a paw and sending it rolling back to the steep slope. She ignored the one on her right, which gave a squeak of surprise as it was crushed under the weight of the yellow tabby. Bark wasn't about to let the last three rabbits get away.

While two of them huddled in terror at the bottom, the third she had flung away flew back the way it had come, running straight into Runningwind's jaws. The brown tabby immediately pinned it and gave it the killing bite. The two last rabbits watched with fright as their littermate was taken down. A heartbeat later, Bark landed on their backs. She quickly pinned one under the weight of her hindpaws and swiped at the other, hooking her claws into its skin and dragging it into her mouth for a killing bite. She dropped it a second later and twisted to bite the back of the last one's neck.

She heard Lionheart sliding down to the bottom of the slope, dust scattering in his wake. "Well done, Bark."

"I think it's dead," Runningwind meowed in amusement.

Bark pulled herself off the crushed rabbit and glanced around. "Well, this should feed half the Clan at least."

Lionheart nodded. "Most cats don't hunt around here," he meowed, "because there isn't much prey. The kittypet usually scare them all off."

"Rabbits don't care about that," meowed Bark. "They tend to go anywhere." She pushed the small rabbit aside. "They must have set up a warren nearby. These kits look like they were released from one a few weeks ago. We can probably expect more rabbits to show up in the future."

Lionheart nodded. "I'll send a hunting patrol back down here tomorrow."

"You should probably wait a few days," meowed Bark. "Warrens tend to put out a group of rabbits every seven days or so. Eating too many will only cause the warren to move away, and they can continue breeding well into the middle of winter, er leafbare." She looked between the two warriors. "They can be the best source of prey for a Clan of this size, maybe even larger, if all other prey is lost."

Lionheart nodded thoughtfully. "How do we locate this warren?"

Bark frowned and looked around. The underbrush was thinner around here because of the pine needles, but she guessed it could have been set up further north. "They like thick and luscious undergrowth surrounding small clearings. The clearings gives them space to run in, but the undergrowth can give them a rich supply of food. When they can eat, they can have kits."

Lionheart nodded. "Alright. I'll have to send patrols away from this area before I can send a proper hunting patrol. Once I've had a chance to explain the situation to Bluestar, I'm sure she'll be willing to leave them alone every few days just so we can have prey in leafbare. Thank you, Bark."

Bark nodded. "No problem."

Runningwind's tail swished the pine needles in excitement. "I hope they're as dumb as this bunch."

"Let's take them back to camp," meowed Lionheart. "I'll take that rabbit, too, Runningwind. Get whatever other prey you caught earlier."

Runningwind nodded and disappeared. Bark immediately grabbed an ear of each of her rabbits and began to drag them back in the direction of camp, with Lionheart in the lead. It was just as the sun's final rays threatened to disappear out of the sky that they made it back to camp. Murmurs of awe greeted them as they padded into the clearing and headed towards the freshkill pile, depositing their prey. Tigerclaw emerged from the group like a dark shadow, his gaze taking in the four rabbits.

"It seems you had a good hunt," he meowed to Lionheart.

"Thanks to Bark," meowed Lionheart, "we'll have more rabbits for moons to come."

Bark couldn't help the swell of pride in her chest but she bowed her head at the compliment. _Eat your heart out, Sandpaw!_

"Bark caught those two rabbits herself," meowed Lionheart. "Runningwind and I each caught one of the others."

Bark nodded. "Runningwind's gone to get his cache."

"This is a big cache!" meowed Graypaw in awe. Bark hadn't notice the tom show up. "You caught these two yourself? On your first hunting mission?"

Bark bowed. "It's the least I could do for what your medicine cat has done for me. And it never hurts to learn a few new new hunting crouches either." She nodded thanks to Lionheart.

"She's a natural hunter," meowed Lionheart.

Runningwind emerged from the entrance carrying a vole and a thrush. He dropped them at the freshkill pile, and said, "You wouldn't believe how much strength Bark has!" He looked around the Clan. "She killed two rabbits at the same time!"

"I'm sure you will regale us with the tale," meowed Tigerclaw with an amused whisker twitch, to purrs of amusement. His gaze flickered to Bark, an unreadable expression on his face.

Bark suddenly felt uneasy around so many cats and decided to slip away while Runningwind's story had them all distracted. She didn't think her catch was really noteworthy; anyone could have caught the two petrified rabbits at the bottom of that slope. She had simply reached them first and had been big enough to crush them under her weight long enough to kill them. It had been a stupidly easy kill and not something worth taking credit for.

"I"ll take Yellowfang something to eat," she meowed to Lionheart before snatching a rabbit from the freshkill pile and bounding up to the prisoner's den. "Yellowfang?" she meowed. "I brought you a rabbit."

The dark gray she-cat was already turned towards her, her tail tip twitching thoughtfully though her expression had been serious. She immediately lightened at the sight of food. "About time. I'm starving."

Purring, Bark pushed the rabbit towards the old she-cat so she could take the first bite. She watched Yellowfang immediately go for the head, knawing it off before deciding she was full. Bark watched her with morbid fascination, wondering what the head must taste like. When Yellowfang made to eat a leg, Bark rose in protest, amused. "Leave some of that for me!"

* * *

 **A/N: I've always had a problem with the pacing in the first two books. Events felt like they were happening one day after the other, and yet at one point Firepaw said it had been three moons before he started training. Where did all the time go? I'm spacing out the events a bit more here. Also, I wanted to mention a few things that were glossed over or poorly explained in the book (beyond Bluestar favoring Firepaw too much, at least).  
**

 **As for Dustpaw and Sandpaw, I'm setting up for when they become warriors in a few chapters. During the time of the first books, the warrior code demanded that apprentices be brought to the moonstone at least once before becoming warriors - or at least that was the impression I had. They dropped that with the new series and I'm not surprised. It seems to me that the intent was for apprentices to become closer to their warrior ancestors, but if the Erins are going to let a cat who can't even receive dreams from StarClan become a medicine cat then they obviously don't follow that philosophy anymore. Kinda makes it seem pointless, no?  
**

 **I wasn't expecting this chapter to be 6.8k words. Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Last Edited: June 28, 2017**


	4. Into the Wild pt 4 (Allegiances)

**Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes  
\- Apprentice, Firepaw

 **Deputy  
** Lionheart - yellow tabby tom with amber eyes and fluffy mane and tail  
\- Apprentice, Graypaw

 **Medicine Cat**  
Spottedleaf - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes

 **Warriors**  
Tigerclaw - dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Ravenpaw  
Whitestorm - white tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Sandpaw  
Darkstripe - dark gray or black tabby tom with yellow eyes  
\- Apprentice, Dustpaw  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat  
Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat  
Brownfoot - goldened brown tabby tom, or pale brown tabby with darker stripes. Aka Runningwind.  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes

 **Prisoners  
** Bark - black-brown she-cat with white throat, underbelly, paws and chin, bright red underfur and sun-gold eyes  
Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes

 **Apprentice**  
Dustpaw - dusky brown tabby tom  
Ravenpaw - black tom with white spots  
Sandpaw - pale tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side  
Graypaw - silvered black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back  
Firepaw - fiery red tabby tom.

 **Queens**  
Frostfur - white she-cat with blue eyes  
Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat  
Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
Speckletail - old yellow tabby she-cat with amber eyes

 **Kits**  
Goldenflower: Brightkit (mostly white she-cat with ginger spots and one black spot), Swiftkit (black and white tom). Six moons.  
Brindleface: Cinderkit (gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat), Thornkit (gray tabby tom), and Brackenkit (pale brown tabby tom). Four moons old.  
Frostfur: Snowkit (white tom) and Mistlekit (very pale gray tabby she-cat). One moon old.  
Speckletail: None

 **Elders** :  
Rosetail - mostly white she-cat with a cream colored tail  
Smallear - old gray tom with small ears  
Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes  
Dappletail - old pale tortoiseshell she-cat  
One-eye - old very pale gray almost white she-cat with one yellow eye and who is virtually blind and deaf  
Halftail - old massive dark brown tabby tom with patchy fur and yellow eyes, and with half his tail missing

* * *

Bluestar, Mousefur, Dustpaw and Sandpaw came trotting back into camp when the sun was a tail's width over the horizon. Dustpaw and Sandpaw immediately darted for the apprentice's den, ready to tell of their adventures. Mousefur slipped into the warrior's den and Bluestar settled down at the edge of camp with her deputy quickly coming to stand at her side.

Bark's hunting trip had been anything but successful. After her easy catch previous, she had half expected to walk out of the forest carrying truck loads of prey. Alas, she had managed to catch one squirrel, which she shared with Yellowfang. Afterwards, the old gray she-cat had licked her lips immediately curled up for a nap, leaving Bark alone with her thoughts.

Lionheart's conversation with her had confirmed that she was in the original timeline. According to the Butterfly Effect, events around her should already start changing – such as Dustpaw and Sandpaw going to the Moonstone before Firepaw had become a warrior. There was no way for her to predict or control what would happen.

Bark wondered if she should get involved with the prophecy at all. Then she snorted. _Firepaw waited too long in the books,_ she thought sorely. _Because of him, ShadowClan suffered from Tigerclaw's rule._

A whisper at the back of her mind hissed. _Because of Bluestar, Brokenstar lived and StarClan refused to give Nightstar! If Brokenstar had died before the carrion-place sickness swept through ShadowClan, Nightstar would have had extra lives to spare and been able to live long enough to know of Tigerclaw's treachery!_

Bark had no desire to break the warrior code, but if Brokenstar was rejected by ShadowClan just like he was in the books then he was outside the warrior code and deserved to die. Bark had no intention of feeding him poison berries; she wanted to rip out the kit-killer's throat with her own bare claws!

It was obvious there was a problem with the original timeline and it was obvious that this timeline would not be the same. Trying to control or predict all the events that would change because of her presence would be pointless so the only thing left to do was to was do what she could when she was in a position to do it. Settled on this course of action, Bark stretched languidly out in the sunlight and padded into the prisoner's den to sleep.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting?"

Bark froze mid-curl and blinked at the den's entrance, wondering why Bluestar hadn't just gone straight to bed and waited until the morning. She padded quickly out of the den and to the side so as not to block Yellowfang's view. The entire Clan seemed to have rushed outside to hear what Bluestar had to say.

"Cats of ThunderClan," she meowed. "Yesterday, as we traveled across the moor, we discovered that WindClan territory had been overrun with ShadowClan and RiverClan cats." Meows of shock and surprise greeted this announcement. "We do not know why they have abandoned their territory but I intended to investigate their camp thoroughly for some answers. Tomorrow, I will select warriors to come with me into WindClan territory. We will return with further news."

The Clan had erupted into murmurings, assuming that the announcements were finished. They were wrong.

"Before we sleep tonight, I would like to welcome a new apprentice into ThunderClan. She as expressed eagerness in learning the warrior code and shows great promise in learning new skills despite her age." Bark twitched her whiskers, amused that was being called old. "Two days ago, she came onto our territory and fought off four foxes. A day ago, she hunted and captured two rabbits and carried them back to camp for us to eat." Bluestar paused. "I do not expect her to remain an apprentice for very long."

 _High praise,_ Bark thought, a tension in her shoulders releasing and she smiled. _I'm going to be a warrior before you are, Firepaw! You just watch me!_

The Clan murmured surprise and approval at the news and Bark found them parting before her like she was Jesus. Amused and embarrassed, she padded up to the bottom of Highrock and looked up expectantly at Bluestar.

"Bark, do you promise to serve and protect this Clan," she meowed and Bark realized that she wasn't speaking the lines normally associated with a mere _apprentice_ ceremony, "even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do," she meowed, her voice having turned firm and strong and expression serious.

"Then until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Foxpaw, in honor of your fox-colored coat."

Bark – or Foxpaw – felt like strength had been poured into her heart and paws. She stood up straighter and prouder.

Bluestar hadn't finished. "Until a suitable mentor for you is found, you will be trained by Tigerclaw, Lionheart and Whitestorm." Then she bounded off the highrock until she standing nose to nose to the new apprentice. She leaned forward expectantly and Foxpaw gently touched noses with her, wondering if she should also lick her shoulder. This was so unorthodox. Her worries were quelled when Bluestar nodded, pleased.

" _Foxpaw! Foxpaw! Foxpaw!"_

The roar of cats shouting her name made her jump and she looked around at the Clan in surprise. It sounded like all the cats had joined together to shout her name. They obviously approved of her. Then again, she hadn't been a kittypet and loners did tend to get more respect. Plus, she _had_ flattered them. A flush of pride rushed through her pelt and she sought out Firepaw's gaze, hoping to see his jealousy. But their gazes locked only briefly and Firepaw looked away to quickly, disappearing into the den. Foxpaw felt pleased by the reaction nonetheless.

 _I'm not going to sit around like a kittypet!_ she thought, half-hoping Firepaw would read her thoughts. _I'm going to protect the Clan I love!_

"Congratulations!" meowed Dustpaw, appearing from the cats like a rabbit bursting from cover. His amber gaze was bright. "I knew you could do it! I knew she'd make you an apprentice sooner or later! Every cat knows you're the best thing this Clan has had since Tigerclaw was born!"

Bark winced at the words but tried to force that aside and look excited. _I'm nothing like Tigerclaw!_ she thought, tail lashing. _I'm going to be the best warrior ever!_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she meowed, almost smug. She remembered the day she had first seen Dustpaw, and felt like Dustpaw could be her first real friend in the Clan. "Wanna show me around?"

Dustpaw nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. "You can share my side of the apprentice's den!"

Foxpaw and Dustpaw weaved through the cats as they congratulated Foxpaw on both her rabbits and her apprenticeship. Foxpaw practically beamed from the praise, too overwhelmed to give them comments but purring loudly at them all. _This is where I belong!_ she thought.

Dustpaw entered the apprentice's den ahead of her. She did not need a moment for her eyes to adjust; the dark outside was the same as in the den. She saw a pile of cats lying on her left and empty den on her right.

"Sandpaw heard about what happened the day we went to the Mothermouth," Dustpaw meowed in amusement. "She was so shocked! Not as slow as a snail after all, huh?"

"Are there any empty nests around here?" Foxpaw asked.

"You can have the one that's right next to mine," he said. "It's in the back."

Foxpaw waited for Dustpaw to go to his nest before settling down on the one that would be hers. She felt like she could fight off an entire horde of cats but settled down to sleep instead, letting her body relax and mind drift.

* * *

Three days passed and Foxpaw was no better at catching birds and mice as she was as catching fish. Her only saving grace were squirrels. Her long legs and black-hardened paws, plus her innate sense of balance, made her the perfect squirrel catcher. She couldn't run fast enough to catch a rabbit, or strike quickly enough for a mouse, but she could out fox a squirrel on its way up the tree.

Two squirrel dangled from her jaws as she padded back to camp after half a day of unsuccessful hunting. The prey in her jowls could feed four cats easily for that day, so she couldn't exactly say she wasn't proud, but it bothered her. She wanted to be faster.

She heard the sounds of cats moving and yowling in the camp and quickened her pawstep. It didn't sound like a battle but more like an announcement atop the Highrock – and she really didn't want to miss _those_.

"It's time to announce who will be going to the Gathering tonight!" Bluestar stood proudly on the Highrock and gazed around the clearing. "Lionheart, Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, Darkstripe, Longtail, Frostfur, Speckletail, Dappletail, One-eye, Smallear, Ravenpaw, Graypaw and Firepaw. Every cat else will remain behind to protect the camp."

Foxpaw blinked up at Bluestar in surprise, disappointed that she would not be going with the other cats and surprised that Firepaw _was_ going. He had only been in the camp for a total of two moons, maybe two and a quarter now, and the first gathering he had gone to in the books was on the third moon. It was too early.

The rusted dark brown apprentice padded over to the freshkill pile to deposit her prey and grabbed a thrush to eat, and padded over to Dustpaw.

"Did she say anything else?" she asked him quietly. "I only caught the list of names for the Gathering."

Dustpaw shook his head. "You caught everything." He looked disappointed. "I was hoping she'd make me warrior today."

"Maybe tomorrow," she said. "She might want you guys to have your vigil the night of the Gathering. I know I would."

"You want to miss a Gathering for you vigil?" he asked.

"No," meowed Foxpaw, "but I would want to have my fresh new warriors at camp when I don't trust the Clan on our borders."

Dustpaw nodded. "Makes sense," he said. "I'll keep an eye out for those mangey RiverClan cats!"

Foxpaw felt her whiskers twitch in frustration at Dustpaw's stupidity. "It's not RiverClan I'd be worried about," meowed Foxpaw.

"Are you kidding?" asked Dustpaw. "RiverClan has been looking for more territory ever since Bluestar was a kit. This is just the thing they'd do!"

Foxpaw wanted to argue but realized that Dustpaw had a good point, at least from the perspective of not knowing the future. "I hope you're right. I'd hate it to be the Clan that drove out their own medicine cat. There's no telling what sort of cats they might be."

* * *

A paw prodded her side and she awoke to the sight of sunlight streaming through the apprentice's den. Despite everything that had happened, she had half-expected to wake up in her room or to find her mom waking her up for school.

"Wake up!" said Dustpaw. "We are going on our warrior assessment!"

Foxpaw blinked. "What? Dustpaw, I'm not Sandpaw."

"I know," he said with a mrrow of amusement, "but Bluestar wants you there, too. Not that you need one, of course."

Ignoring the flattery, Foxpaw lashed her tail and stood up to follow. When she stepped out into camp, she stretched and clawed the earth. She padded nervously over to Bluestar, Sandpaw, Dustpaw, Darkstripe and Whitestorm.

"Today is your warrior assessments," meowed Bluestar. "Foxpaw is joining us so we can understand where she is with her training." She looked down at Foxpaw. "Until we determine who your permanent mentor is going to be, you will be trained here at the Sandy Hollow every day. Remember where it is." She looked at Dustpaw and Sandpaw. "You two have already been to the Moonstone, so today is to prove to us that you are ready to be made warriors. If you succeed, you will be made warriors upon your return."

Foxpaw sensed that Bluestar was saying all of this for her benefit, but Foxpaw couldn't really think about that as she wondered if she could even remember the mouse hunting technique Lionheart had taught her. _I hope I can find a squirrel or two._

"Also, the territory south of Snakerocks is off limits," Bluestar continued. "Lionheart is going to be leading a hunting patrol there later today and we do not want you disturbing them."

Dustpaw, Sandpaw and Foxpaw nodded. Foxpaw shuffled her paws, glancing at Dustpaw and Sandpaw and feeling jealous of their confidence. Natural hunting instincts could not hope to be as good as experienced hunters and fighters.

"We will start the assessment at the Sandy Hollow," meowed Bluestar.

Foxpaw wasn't feeling good about this. She hadn't been taken to see the territory yet, and only knew vaguely where everything was from the maps she had seen. She followed behind the others, with Darkstripe a pawstep behind her, breathing on her flank. Foxpaw thought that Darkstripe was going to attack her, but he kept his claws in despite giving her strange looks. They made it to the Sandy Hollow without incident, and Foxpaw was relieved to the feel the familiar cushioned surface under her paws.

Bluestar looked at her apprentices. "Sandpaw, you will hunt around the Great Sycamore. Dustpaw, you will hunt closer towards Tallpines, but do not hunt under the pine trees. There is plenty of territory to hunt in between here and there. Foxpaw, you will hunt in the south on this side of RiverClan territory. Keep a nose out for the border, do not cross it, and stay away from it. I do not want to have to explain you to RiverClan before ThunderClan is ready to handle them."

Foxpaw nodded.

"Good. You have until dusk. We will be watching your progress, so do your best."

Dustpaw darted off immediately, and Sandpaw was a pawstep behind him. Foxpaw hesitated, glancing at the sun to figure out which way was south, before following. Foxpaw had a funny feeling that Bluestar was going to be watching her, but she pushed that aside as she attempted to focus.

After a while, the sounds of the forest was all she could hear and everywhere there was only the sight of green underbrush. Moving carefully and quietly, stalking along as if she had already caught sound and sight of the prey she was looking for, she began to hear the faint sound of other creatures moving in the undergrowth. She paused when she thought she heard pawsteps behind her, but ignored it. She wasn't hunting for cats.

She heard the mouse before she smelled or saw it. The faint sound of a heartbeat was unmistakable, but she couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from. She moved carefully through the undergrowth, but the sound of something scurrying away told her she had accidentally disturbed it. With a sigh of disappointment, she moved on.

The next time, she smelled it before she saw or heard it. The wind blew at her from the right, so she turned into it and padded slowly towards the smell. She heard the heartbeat again, but it was different. It was a different creature, not a mouse but a squirrel. She saw it's flag tail as it turned half-towards her and she paused. She was probably making too much noise, and since she only knew a mouse and bird crouch, she had no idea how to actually grab it and kill it. She took another step forward, watching for a reaction, and put her full weight on it. It didn't react. She puzzled over this for half a second, before she lunged. She managed to get halfway towards it before it darted, and readjusted her pounce to follow the squirrel towards it's chosen tree. She leaped upwards and slammed her paw down, feeling the fluff of the tail brush her paws. Then the squirrel darted up the tree and Foxpaw fell back to earth, empty pawed.

 _I'm never going to catch any prey at this rate_ , she thought, frustrated.

She tried to adjust her timing, sneaking closer to the prey before pouncing. She managed to catch one vole by the tail this way, and killed it. It's squeak made it impossible for her to find another one anytime soon and she hid in a bush while watching the sun. It was long before dusk would come, with the sun at the midpoint between sunhigh and sunset. With a sigh, she moved further south, hoping that the distance would allow her to catch more prey. Her ears perked for any sounds of life, her nose sniffing the wind occasionally, and her eyes scanned the underbrush.

The distant noise of rushing water told her she was nearing the edge of the territory. She could see a clearing between the tree trunks and decided it was best to turn back. She padded a few fox lengths into the forest before she came face-to-face with Bluestar.

"Uh, hi!" she said. "I didn't see you there. Or hear you, really."

"I noticed," she meowed. "Lionheart was right, you do have good instincts, but you are slow."

Foxpaw felt like that was hitting to close to her lazy human roots. "How do I get faster?"

"You try harder," meowed Bluestar, tilting her head thoughtfully at Foxpaw when Foxpaw made a face. "You do not look like you are putting in any effort."

Foxpaw sighed, pondering how to respond to this, lying easily. "I've never had to hunt for so many before, or really at all. There's a lot of food just lying around in the twolegplace that any cat could eat if they fought for it. Usually when we find prey to hunt, there is so many that didn't really have to put any effort in it at all."

Bluestar nodded. "I see, but if you want to be a part of this Clan, you are going to have to work harder than that."

Foxpaw lashed her tail. _But I was trying!_ she thought. "Okay."

"You still have some time to try and catch something else," meowed Bluestar, before she padded away and disappeared.

Feeling more frustrated, Foxpaw padded around through the undergrowth, listening and sniffing for the prey, and hoping that some fool mouse would run straight into her paws.

* * *

Foxpaw managed to catch one squirrel.

She had paused under a bush to catch her breath and think about her pounce. She couldn't figure out what it was she was doing that was wrong. Then the squirrel had decided to make its presence known, tentatively moving down the tree and making noises against the bark with its claws. She froze and ducked her head, seeing the tiny claws of the creature. It wasn't looking at the ground; it's attention was elsewhere. She tensed every muscle in her body and bounded out of her hiding spot, leaping up passed the retreating squirrel. Her claws shot out and sank into it's paws, pinning it long enough for her to sink her teeth into its back and neck, crushing bone. Gravity pulled her down and she ripped it free of the bark and down to the ground. A heartbeat later, it was dead.

Satisfied at her catch despite it not being a clean kill, Foxpaw licked her paws and looked around, checking the time. Her frustration seemed to have died with her catch. Bluestar had been right, she told herself; she hadn't tried hard enough. She had been trying on her first attack, when she had swiped that rabbit running up the slope on the way down it herself. Though she hadn't caught the rabbit, she had switched tracks to crush the two rabbits at the bottom so quickly that she had snagged them both. Two-and-a-half-rabbits. She needed to be quicker on her paws. She remembered the fight with the fox, how much slower she had been. If only she could be as fast as when she swiped the paws out from under that rabbit all the time. She'd be a great warrior then.

But what if she couldn't be that fast all the time? She had balance from leaping from tree branch to tree branch, roof top to roof top, and fence to fence line in all her prior dreams, but she didn't have any real speed. Fishing could probably help her strike faster, but ThunderClan wouldn't appreciate the freshkill. Neither would RiverClan, and the last thing she needed was to cause an incident between the two Clans. That wouldn't go over well.

She carried her piece of freshkill, and the one vole she managed to catch earlier, with her back to the Sandy Hollow, surprised to find Bluestar already had returned.

"You still have time, Foxpaw," meowed Bluestar with a frown.

Foxpaw had a hard time responding to this. "I wasn't sure if I had time," she meowed, looking kind of lost and down at her freshkill.

Bluestar's tail tip flicked. "It is good for your first time," she meowed, "but I expect twice as much freshkill from you tomorrow."

Foxpaw nodded nervously, sensing that Bluestar was disappointed in her. Foxpaw wrapped her tail around her paws and stared down at the two pieces of freshkill. How much did a cat of the Clan normally catch? In the books, Firepaw had only ever caught three pieces of prey while hunting. She couldn't understand why Bluestar found her catch disappointing. Even though it may not be three rabbits, but it was her first solo hunting mission and she hadn't come back empty pawed. That was better than some other cats.

Dustpaw and Darkstripe emerged a second later, with both of them carrying a mouthful of prey. Darkstripe took one glance at her freshkill pile, his face expressionless. Foxpaw wondered why he wasn't already tearing into her for not catching enough. Deciding to say something, Foxpaw looked at Dustpaw. "Well, well," she meowed, looking at Dustpaw. "I'm glad I only caught one piece of prey. Looks like I could have upstaged you."

Dustpaw blinked at her in gratitude, taking her joking tone more seriously than she intended. He deposited his prey beside hers, and she noted with surprise that he had eight pieces of prey. She hadn't even smelled or seen that many pieces of prey.

"Looks like I was in better hunting grounds," meowed Dustpaw modestly.

"You could be right. I only smelled four pieces of prey and I caught only two," she meowed. "To be honest, I don't think my head was in it."

"What were you thinking about?" asked Dustpaw, suddenly tense.

"RiverClan, actually," meowed Foxpaw. "Why did they give up hunting rights in the last Gathering? I sense that RiverClan might have grown soft since they took Sunningrocks."

"Are you saying we could take it back?" asked Dustpaw.

"No, I'm thinking they should keep it," meowed Foxpaw with a purr. "We wouldn't want that territory making _us_ soft!" She twitched her whiskers at him in a grin. "Though if they can't even defend themselves from ShadowClan, it could mean we have an opportunity to take it back before leafbare. They'll be so soft from moons of sleeping on the rocks that it'll be kit's play."

Dustpaw purred. "You think like a Clan cat."

A companionable silence settled over them and Foxpaw took the time to notice Darkstripe. The tom had stopped talking to Bluestar and he was looking out of the corner of his eye at her. He did not look away when she looked at him, and it unnerved her.

Sandpaw and Whitestorm arrived later, padding into the Sandy Hollow with two mouthfuls of prey. That was six pieces of prey total.

"Looks like Dustpaw won," said Foxpaw. "He's got the most pieces of prey."

"But I caught a rabbit," meowed Sandpaw, smug.

Foxpaw glanced at the rabbit. It was probably worth two squirrels, or four mice. "True," she meowed. "Can I carry some of that prey back, Dustpaw? I'd feel embarrassed if everyone thought I only caught the _one_ squirrel and dingy mouse."

"Sure," meowed Dustpaw, putting aside two mice for her to grab. "Though, that's a vole, not a mouse."

Blinking gratitude, Foxpaw snapped them up quickly along with her freshkill and looked expectantly at Bluestar. The blue-gray she-cat nodded at Whitestorm and gestured for the apprentices to gather around.

"You all did good work," meowed Bluestar, glancing at the extra prey in Foxpaw's mouth with a noncommittal flick of her ears. Foxpaw smiled back at her. "Sandpaw, Dustpaw," continued Bluestar, "congratulations are in order. I will see you both tomorrow at sunhigh for your warrior ceremonies."

Dustpaw's tail went straight up and Sandpaw raised her head proudly. Foxpaw purred in amusement at them. They may be ten moons old, but they were still kits at heart. "Furbrains," she meowed through a mouthful of prey. She wondered briefly how the vigil would change them, or how it even could change any cat.

"You will need extra sleep tonight so you can have your vigils tomorrow," she told them. "Dismissed."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for this being late, but I didn't like what I had written for it when I woke up this morning and decided that it needed to be rewritten. I'm still trying to work on creating consistent character arcs. If you guys have any advice on that, it would be much appreciated.**

 **I might edit this again later, but I might not. Hope you guys like it!**

 **Last Edited: June 28, 2017**


	5. Into the Wild pt 5

The six cats padded into ThunderClan camp to a welcoming murmur of surprise and congratulations. The Clan knew from one glance how well the assessment had gone. Sandpaw and Dustpaw raised their tails and heads in pride. Foxpaw ducked away from the growing crowd as quickly as she could and, after depositing her prey, snuck away to the apprentice's den.

"How did it go?" meowed Graypaw instantly.

Foxpaw blinked at him in surprise. "Where have you been?"

"I was on the sunhigh patrol," he meowed. "I saw you leaving while I was sharing tongues."

Foxpaw nodded, surprised. "Well, uh, we had an assessment. Sandpaw and Dustpaw are going to be made warriors at sunhigh tomorrow. I still need more training."

Graypaw lashed his tail. "So, Sandpaw's leaving. I think Firepaw's gonna like that!"

Foxpaw twitched her whiskers at him. "I doubt Sandpaw is."

"Oh?" asked Graypaw. "Why would Sandpaw not like that?"

"Because she has a crush on Firepaw," meowed Foxpaw, "but she'd never admit it. Dustpaw knows and he was chasing her tail before Firepaw arrived. I think she's frustrated that she's fallen for a kittypet and is taking it out on him." At least, that's what Foxpaw thought the Erins were thinking when they originally wrote her character. "Where _is_ Firepaw?"

Graypaw shrugged. "He's out on a patrol with Tigerclaw and Ravenpaw. I'm going to get some freshkill." He padded out of the den and raced across the camp.

Foxpaw looked around the apprentice's den, her sharp cat eyes picking out the nest even as darkness fell over the camp. When she padded out, it seemed most of the warriors in camp had either retired or were sharing tongues and getting ready for sleep. Lionheart called together a night patrol, and Foxpaw heard the names of Runningwind, Darkstripe and Longtail. He padded up to a big, scarred tom with familiar ragged fur with wide amber eyes.

Foxpaw shuddered and blinked, only to realize that the big scarred tom was not Brokenstar but Tigerclaw. The two cats almost looked alike in the moonlight, with the same amber eyes and dark brown fur. The trio padded outside of the camp without another glance back. A small red tom padded up to the apprentice's den.

"Hey," said Firepaw, and opened his mouth to say something else before quietly giving up and slipping inside of the den. Foxpaw watched him in confusion before shaking herself. After her pathetic warrior assessment, she just wanted someone or something to cheer her up. Her thoughts turned to the nursery and she padded over to the freshkill pile to bring them some food.

"Hello!" meowed Goldenflower. "Nice to see you again."

"I never got to thank you for the moss," meowed Foxpaw. "I brought you some freshkill."

Goldenflower purred and accepted the piece of freshkill. "Shouldn't I be saying 'thank you' to you? I love vole!"

Foxpaw twitched her whiskers. "You're welcome," she said with a purr. "How are the kits?"

"See for yourself!" meowed Goldenflower, gesturing inside.

Foxpaw purred as the milky smell of the nursery hit the roof of her mouth. She smelled multiple she-cats inside and lots of younger cats.

"Are you Foxpaw?" meowed an unfamiliar voice, female. It came from a mostly white she-cat with ginger spots and one black patch on her forehead.

"Are these the future apprentices of ThunderClan?" meowed Foxpaw quietly.

The tortoiseshell-and-white she cat padded out of the den, her bright eyes gleaming in the darkness. "I'm Brightkit! This is Swiftkit!" She gestured at an equally white tom with an otherwise black pelt. They both had slim shoulders, narrow backs and long legs.

"Nice to meet you," meowed Swiftkit with a calm flick of his ears.

Foxpaw settled down on her paws and purred at them. "I thought you might want to know that Dustpaw's and Sandpaw's warrior ceremony are tomorrow at sunhigh. I get the feeling Bluestar's going to make you guys apprentices in a few days, just to get you out of the other queen's fur."

Brightkit and Swiftkit brightened at the news. "I wonder who they'll pick for our mentors!" meowed Swiftkit, his voice growing quiet and conspiratorially.

"We could use the room," meowed Frostfur over the noise of Brightkit's and Swiftkit's hushed excitement. Her kits meowed at her but she shushed them.

Foxpaw looked at Goldenflower. "What are you going to do when they move out?"

She shuffled uncertainly. "I can't imagine being a warrior again," she admitted, looking back into the camp. "I want to stay in the nursery and take care of the kits. Like Brindleface does."

Foxpaw noticed her gaze drift towards the warrior's den to a dark brown tabby laying down outside the den, and her thoughts jumped to Tigerclaw and Bramblekit. "You planning on having another litter?"

"I was," she meowed. "I'm going to wait a moon or two before I have one, though."

Foxpaw purred. "I'd love to see them. I've never seen newborn kittens before."

A warm silence followed. "I'm sure you'd make a great mother," Goldenflower meowed softly.

Foxpaw looked shocked. "I wasn't planning on having a litter."

"Oh, sorry," meowed Goldenflower, flustered and embarrassed.

"You'd have a big litter!" meowed Frostfur joyfully. "Or very big kits! All the Clans would be jealous."

Foxpaw shifted uncomfortably, unnerved that they'd be talking as if it was only a matter of time before she became a queen. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, don't listen to her," meowed Goldenflower, flustered. "She's been like that since she had her first litter. I don't think she wants to ever stop having kits."

"Who wouldn't?" meowed Frostfur, purring at her kits.

Brindleface looked up from the queens and shushed her sister, tail lashing. "Not everyone wants to be a queen, Frostfur. Remember Mousefur? Stop bothering the poor she-cat."

"That furbrain!" snapped Frostfur, lips curling at the very mention of Mousefur. "She doesn't know what she's missing!"

"I should probably go eat," Foxpaw meowed, suddenly wanting to be as far away from Frostfur as possible, turning to leave before pausing at the entrance. "See you two soon, Brightkit, Swiftkit."

"See you, Foxpaw!" the two kits meowed.

It was night out and the moon had bleached the camp. She padded over to the freshkill pile, looking around at the empty camp. It looked very different without cats there to crowd it. Foxpaw was glad that it was empty of cats. The idea of having kits had upset her dearly. She loved kits dearly and wanted to have a little eventually, but the idea of having a large litter made her concerned that she might die in the process. _I can't save anybody when I'm dead – StarClan is useless!_

Feeling hungry, she padded to the freshkill pile. There was one squirrel at the bottom of the cache and she fished it out, leaning down to take a bite out of it only to find something ugly wiggling in her mouth. She dropped it and reeled at the maggots swarming inside of the squirrel's guts. In the half-light, it almost looked like a solid almost white kit. Horror filled her, and she raced back into the apprentice den, leaving the maggoty squirrel where she had found it. She did not see the flinty yellow gaze watching the scene from the prisoner's den.

* * *

She could not fall asleep that night. She did not move, eyes wide, when dawn fell over the camp. A paw prodded her side.

"Get up," meowed Firepaw, his soft voice trying vainly to be loud. "We're going to have battle training."

Foxpaw uncurled and looked at the bright orange cat with wide eyes. Foxpaw suddenly understood why everyone thought his coat was always on fire in the books. He was a ticked tabby, with the 'M' marking on his forehead and stripes on his paws and tail tip. The rest of his coat had no stripes and was a solid bright orange with darker strands scattered throughout. At first glance he seemed to be on fire.

But Foxpaw also understood why everyone always thought he was a soft kittypet, without anyone needing to be told. His voice was so soft that it was easy to mistake it for the sounds of a mewling kitten. Even Smudge had sounded normal compared to this tom.

She shook herself and padded out into the camp, half-expecting the squirrel carcass to still be there but found that someone had buried it. Relieved, she paused long enough for Firepaw to take the lead and followed him to the other side of camp where Bluestar waited.

"Foxpaw," meowed Bluestar, "we're going to the Sandy Hollow."

She nodded and waited expectantly for Bluestar to lead the way but the blue-gray she-cat waited. Firepaw bumped her shoulder. Realizing she was expected to guide them there, Foxpaw glanced up at the sky to determine which way was south and then padded nervously through the tunnel. The Sandy Hollow was south of the camp, but she couldn't remember if it was southeast or southwest. Memories of Darkstripe breathing down her flank made her shudder. Since Tallpines and Snakerocks were somewhere in the east, she guessed that she should head westward. She ran up the ravine and headed around the camp towards the south. Bluestar and Firepaw followed along slowly, and Foxpaw found herself weaving through the trees as she kept a look out for the familiar clearing. When she felt the ground slope out from underneath her, she turned towards the slope and found herself padding into the Sandy Hollow.

"Well done," meowed Bluestar, but there was a particular undercurrent in her voice that made Foxpaw tense. "You will be using what you have learned so far against each other."

 _There's no contest_ , thought Foxpaw, licking her shoulder thoughtfully _. Could be worse. Firepaw could be an enemy warrior trying to kill me._

Foxpaw noticed that Firepaw had taken up a position at the other end of the Sandy Hollow, and she lashed her tail. Foxpaw couldn't help but wonder how she was supposed to defeat the tom who was so good at everything.

A flash of orange fur knocked her over and she landed in the sand. Surprised, she looked up at Firepaw, his green eyes narrowed and a strange light in them. His tail swept low and thoughtfully over the sand.

"Did I do that right, Bluestar?" he meowed questioningly.

"Well done," answered Bluestar. "You should be paying attention to your opponent, Foxpaw."

Foxpaw flattened her ears and wondered if Bluestar had ever been impressed with her. She felt like Firepaw was her brother and she was trying to compete for Bluestar's approval when Firepaw wasn't even trying. Frustrated, she shifted under Firepaw and the orange tom stepped off.

"Again," meowed Bluestar.

This time Foxpaw turned and faced Firepaw, focusing on him like he was a piece of prey she was going to hunt. Firepaw flicked his ears at her and charged, moving towards her left side. Foxpaw dodged right and, quick as lightning, Firepaw landed on her.

"Again," meowed Bluestar.

Firepaw lifted herself off and eyed Firepaw wearily, at a loss as to what to do. This wasn't like hunting, crouching and padding silently through the forest. That required precision and thought, but fighting was chaotic. Even if Firepaw was the slowest fighter, Foxpaw couldn't land a blow without thinking it through first.

Firepaw knocked her down for a sixth time and Foxpaw gave him a shove in frustration when he pulled off her. Firepaw opened his mouth to say something but glanced at Bluestar and closed it, tail twitching. Foxpaw's lip curled; _That's the second time he's tried to say something and didn't say it!_

"Again," meowed Bluestar, tail tip twitching in frustration.

Foxpaw had enough of being attacked and decided it was time to be proactive. She charged across the Sandy Hollow and batted Firepaw in the head with an outstretched paw. Surprised, Firepaw quickly recovered and batted back at her, the strength behind his paw not enough to stagger her. She blinked in surprise and twisted around Firepaw to land a blow on his shoulder. His legs spread out from under him as he kept his balance, but it was obvious she had more strength than he did. Distracted by this new observation, Foxpaw found herself suddenly under a ball of orange fluff.

"Again!" meowed Bluestar. "Foxpaw, use your strength and hit harder."

 _Faster and harder_ , Foxpaw thought with bemusement. _You'd think she was couching me on how to mate!_

Foxpaw returned to her position and faced Firepaw, frustrated and irritated. With a snarl, she attacked Firepaw, this time with a bit of violence in mind. She swiped out at Firepaw's paws and knocked him onto his side, and he gave a yelp as he hit the ground hard. Foxpaw landed on him, pinning him down with her weight.

"Well done, Foxpaw," said Bluestar. "Now, do it again. But harder this time. Firepaw, you need to move faster."

 _Oh my StarClan,_ Foxpaw thought. _Please stop._

Foxpaw moved away from Firepaw and back to her original spot. Despite her mental protests, a fire had been lit in her eyes and under her paws. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and for the first time since she had arrived felt like she could chase down a rabbit and catch it.

Firepaw charged forward, but Foxpaw was ready. She ducked under Firepaw's lunge, landed on her back and twisted around so her paws hit his stomach, sending him flying. She was on her feet in an instant and she immediately went to pin Firepaw down. Firepaw relaxed under her grip, feigning defeat, but Foxpaw mouthed his shoulder, waiting expectantly for Bluestar to declare the fight over. Firepaw gave a soft sigh of defeat and Foxpaw felt his shoulder fur spike up in annoyance.

"Again," meowed Bluestar, obviously pleased.

Foxpaw hopped off him and padded to her spot, pleased that Bluestar was pleased. Firepaw looked like he was ready to face a lion now that Bluestar had praised Foxpaw. Foxpaw tensed, only to be boiled over by orange fur.

"You need to work on your defense," meowed Firepaw.

"I was about to say the same to you," meowed Foxpaw, purring.

"And your attack," meowed Firepaw, his whiskers twitching in a cat grin.

For a moment, Foxpaw realized that she and Firepaw could be friends despite the rivalry they had fallen into. Then, with a low growl that was neither playful nor menacing, Foxpaw shoved him in the shoulder as he got up. They sparred for hours, with neither improving much on defense but Foxpaw steadily getting better at attacking and Firepaw steadily getting better at dodging. Foxpaw didn't mind the many defeats as much anymore as Bluestar was still pleased with her progress. When Foxpaw had been backed into a corner by a flurry of well-aimed blows and defeated with a paw against her neck, Bluestar called the session over.

"Your training for today is over," she meowed, then hesitated. "Foxpaw, today you are going to receive your permanent mentor."

Remembering Sandpaw's and Dustpaw's warrior ceremonies, Foxpaw jumped to her paws. "I hope I get Whitestorm," she said to no one in particular.

"He _is_ patient," meowed Firepaw, earning a playful swipe from Foxpaw.

Foxpaw was in high spirits as she padded shoulder-to-shoulder with Firepaw back to the ThunderClan camp, eager to see what it would be like to witness her first warrior ceremony. As they reached the camp, it was already sunhigh. Foxpaw felt uncomfortable while surrounded by so many cats. They already knew what was about to happen and everyone was already waiting expectantly before the Highrock. The murmur of the cats quieted when they noticed Bluestar's arrival and the blue-gray she-cat didn't hesitate to make her way over to the highrock. Lionheart padded forward to greet her and they stopped to converse.

Foxpaw could remember her own pseudo-apprentice ceremony and the oath she had sworn. Today, Dustpaw and Sandpaw would be making that same oath and complete their transition into being warriors of ThunderClan.

 _But will they understand what that oath means?_ Foxpaw wondered, glancing at Tigerclaw. The big warrior might seem like he was a valuable asset to the Clan, but Foxpaw knew better. He stood out from the Clan even more than Firepaw, on occasion, watching, listening and learning.

"You must be sad that Dustpaw is becoming a warrior," meowed Firepaw, slowly and softly.

Foxpaw flicked her ears thoughtfully. "Not really," she meowed, her voice playful and filled with respect. "He's a pestilence! I'm glad he's getting out of my fur."

"Until you become a warrior," meowed Firepaw, equally amused.

Foxpaw gave a mock-groan. "Oh, what in StarClan am I going to do?"

Foxpaw heard the soft mew of Frostfur and noticed she, Brindleface and Speckletail were sitting outside the nursery with Goldenflower a couple of tail lengths away from them, mothering her kits, both of whom were her size.

There were five tiny kits at their feet, two small pure white kits, a grey tabby she-cat, a golden brown tabby tom, and another golden tabby tom. The two white kits, one male and one female, were hardly over a moon old. Their tails stood straight up and they tottered around on unsteady bowed legs, practically crawling everywhere they went. Frostfur paused in her meowing to constantly pull them close to herself, and if Foxpaw didn't know better she would have guessed they both belonged to her.

The other three cats were the same age and same size, at roughly four moons, where they are half the weight of a normal cat but walked around on steady legs and purposeful movements. Humans would have already weaned them, neutered them, and sold them to anyone interested in them. Here, they were allowed to remain kits for another two moons. Foxpaw guessed they were Cinderkit, Thornkit and Brackenkit.

"...she's going to have a huge litter," meowed Speckletail, the oldest nursing queen. "No doubt."

"Or huge kits!" meowed Frostfur. "I wouldn't want to be in the nursery when she moves in!"

Brindleface shook her head, amused, and Speckletail rolled her eyes. They knew that day would never happen; nothing could chase Frostfur from the queen's den. Foxpaw looked away.

"She's too ugly to get a mate," meowed the old queen.

Foxpaw's head snapped around to stare at Speckletail in shock.

"Oh, don't be silly," meowed Frostfur, her dreams of seeing Foxpaw with a litter potentially crushed. "Of course she's going to get a mate."

"She's too strong willed and independent," meowed Speckletail. "She's too loud and annoying."

"Bluestar had a mate once," meowed Brindleface, "and you said the same about her."

"Thrushpelt was different," meowed Speckletail. "He'd have fallen for any she-cat."

Foxpaw didn't know what was more horrifying, having a litter and potentially dying from the size of it or never having a chance at a mate. Her fur fluffed up in alarm as she looked away, feeling sick. Then she realized something else. _I'm never going to have a normal human baby,_ she thought, suddenly mournful of the life she had accidentally lost.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Foxpaw's head snapped to Bluestar, who was looking over her Clan with her tail stuck straight up in pride. "Cats of ThunderClan," meowed Bluestar. "It is a long anticipated event for apprentices to be made warriors, and today I am proud to say that there are two among us that are ready to be made into warriors."

Cats backed away from the bottom of the rock, revealing Dustpaw and Sandpaw waiting excitedly at the bottom. Bluestar took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on Silverpelt's swath of stars and began speaking. Her voice rang out, clear and measured in the hushed camp. "I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." She looked down at Sandpaw and Dustpaw, narrowing her eyes. "Sandpaw, Dustpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do," said Sandpaw and Dustpaw at once.

"Very well," said Bluestar. "Then by the powers of StarClan I will give these apprentices their warrior names. Sandpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sandstorm. StarClan honors your courage and your spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Bluestar stepped forward and rested her head on Sandstorm's, and Foxpaw guessed the new warrior had licked Bluestar's shoulder. Whitestorm stepped up, and walked Sandstorm away, murmuring congratulations and warm praise.

Then Bluestar turned towards Dustpaw. "Dustpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Dustpelt. StarClan honors your bravery and your honesty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

She rested her head on Dustpelt's, and presumably Dustpelt licked her shoulder. Darkstripe stepped up, spoke to him quietly, and watched him pad towards the warriors' den. Foxpaw wondered why.

The camp was filled with the shouts of the warriors names, with every cat rushing forward to welcome the new warriors. For a heartbeat, Foxpaw hung back but realized it would be rude not to at least say something to her friend. She padded through the camp to Dustpelt and was surprised to see Dustpelt looking for her. She stepped out of the crowd of cats when it momentarily parted.

"Well done, Dustpelt!" she meowed with a purr and touched his nose.

"I'm sure you'll be joining me shortly," meowed Dustpelt, suddenly flustered.

Foxpaw rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Graypaw looks like he might be serious competition."

"That hairball," meowed Dustpelt. "Don't let him fool you. He's mousebrained."

"So are you and Sandstorm," meowed Foxpaw, amused. "And you see how that turned out."

Dustpelt purred. "See you around, Foxpaw."

Foxpaw was about to say something else but Dustpelt had turned away. Feeling embarrassed, she backed up into the crowd and made her way back to the other two apprentices. When she spotted Brightkit and Swiftkit through the crowd, she padded over to them instead.

"Did Bluestar say anything about their apprentice ceremonies?" she asked Goldenflower.

Goldenflower opened her mouth, her whiskers twitching in amusement before a call from the Highrock interrupted her.

"We have another ceremony to make!" meowed Bluestar, cutting through the celebratory meows. "Two of our kits are ready to be made into apprentices!"

The Clan grew quiet and Dustpelt and Sandstorm stopped at the entrance to the warrior's den, ready to sleep before their vigil. Foxpaw couldn't exactly remember it from the book, but she suspected it didn't matter. Everything was changing, just like the presence of those strange two white kits.

"Brightkit," she meowed, gesturing with her tail to the groomed mostly ginger-and-white she-cat. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Brightpaw."

Her eyes flashed with excitement.

"Longtail," Bluestar said, startling Foxpaw, "you were Darkstripe's apprentice. He taught you well, and you have become a fierce and loyal warrior. I hope you will pass some of these qualities on to Brightpaw."

 _But Longtail was supposed to apprentice Swiftpaw!_ she thought, too shocked to comment on the 'fierce' part of her statement. _Who is going to mentor him now?_

Her answer came a few moments later. "Swiftkit. From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Swiftpaw." She searched the crowd. "Brownfoot, you were once my apprentice. You have since grown to become a swift and loyal warrior. I hope you will pass some of these qualities on to Swiftpaw."

Brownfoot, better known as Runningwind, padded up to the small black-and-white apprentice and touched noses with him.

"And finally," said Bluestar, startling Foxpaw once more as the blue-gray she-cat waved her over. Foxpaw padded up to where the new apprentices had been sitting a half-second before. She looked up at Bluestar in confusion and waited. "Darkstripe, you were once Tigerclaw's apprentice. He taught you how to be a bold fighter and an intelligent hunter. I hope you will pass down these qualities on to Foxpaw."

The big black tabby tom padded up to Foxpaw and touched noses with her, lingering for a breath before backing off.

"I'm sure you and I are going to get along well," Darkstripe meowed, his glittering eyes sending a shiver through Foxpaw's fur. "We'll start training after the Gathering."

* * *

When she awoke, she was momentarily disoriented. The stale marshy smell of her denmate had been replaced with the dry smell of leaves and tom-cats. It was dark and the den was half-empty, with only the light of the full moon to see by. She realized that she was in the apprentice's den and that she had a new name. Excitement filled her, as well as weariness; something had woken her up. Cats were meowing outside and Foxpaw decided she needed to join them. She padded towards the entrance and stared out at a familiar scene with shock.

Cats crowded the entrance to the bramble tunnel, swarming all over the camp and yowling out in panic. Foxpaw looked up at the full moon and realized with a start that the Gathering had come and gone. The Clan was a like an angry mass of creatures, hissing and snarling at each other, but she noted that there were no claws unsheathed. Then she spotted a ragged gray she-cat, old and with yellowed teeth, crouching down beneath the weight and size of a large dark ThunderClan warrior. _Darkstripe,_ she realized, _and Yellowfang._

And next to them both all stood Tigerclaw, looking over the crowd of cats with a calculated look. The sight of him made her tense up, as if she expected him to suddenly order everyone to attack her.

"And what has she done?" meowed Bluestar. The sound of her icy calm voice settled some of the tension, causing cats to check themselves. Her piercing blue eyes were fixed on Darkstripe's angry face.

"You were at the Gathering! Brokenstar said she-" Darkstripe was cut off.

"Brokenstar," said Bluestar, loudly and clearly, "said only that there is a rogue somewhere in the woods. He did not mention Yellowfang by name. The kits have not been harmed. Until there is proof she is guilty of anything, no cat is allowed to harm Yellowfang."

Foxpaw, seeing that the cats had already begun to calm down, chose that moment to leave the apprentice den and pad passed Dustpelt to the group of cats. Her gaze flickered over Yellowfang, looking for signs of injury but it looked like Darkstripe and Tigerclaw had kept their claws sheathed when dealing with her. Her fur was ruffled but undamaged. Foxpaw looked up at Tigerclaw and felt a flash of sudden anger when she saw that the dark brown tabby was looking at her.

"Where I come from," she said, her voice clear and loud, "we do not rush to a conclusion on some other cat's say so. A cat is innocent _until_ proven guilty. What evidence do any of you have that she has harmed any kit in this or any other Clan?" She looked around at the Clan cats, holding their gazes until either they had looked away. Her sun-gold eyes settled on Bluestar's icy-blue. "If none of you have any evidence, then she is not guilty of the crime."

The Clan cats murmured to each other. The longer the murmurings continued, the more uncomfortable Foxpaw started to become. _I was a rogue once, too,_ a whisper reminded her. _They could have easily blamed it on me._ Foxpaw wondered why Bluestar had let her speak.

Bluestar nodded. "It is time we discussed the real threat to our Clan: ShadowClan," meowed Bluestar. "We have two new kits waiting to be made into apprentices. We must focus on their training, and prepare the camp for an attack."

"Then we're not going to agree to Brokenstar's demands?" meowed Tigerclaw.

"The Clans have never shared hunting rights before," Bluestar meowed. "They have always managed to support themselves in their own territories. There is no reason why this should change."

Foxpaw noticed Tigerclaw nodding approvingly at this statement and lashed her tail in irritation. _This tom had just tried to kill a cat on the Gathering day,_ she thought before her gaze shifted to Darkstripe. _You are just a pawn to be played and he has you hook, line and sinker._

She had studied the first series thoroughly when she was still a human. Tigerclaw's character had always felt either been forced or too dumb to live. She hated him the moment he had started spreading false rumors about Ravenpaw leaving the Moonstone group for ShadowClan – despite there being three cats in the Clan who could have contradicted him. And like idiots the Clan had eaten them up. Foxpaw wanted to kill him, but unlike Tigerclaw, she was smart enough to know there would be little to no opportunity to do so. So, the next best thing was to discredit him, to destroy his reputation, to kill him in the eyes of StarClan and have him excised from all the Clans like a demon.

An elder meowed loudly in a tremulous voice. "But can we defend ourselves against a ShadowClan attack? WindClan didn't manage it! RiverClan won't even try!"

"We must try!" meowed Bluestar. "We cannot give up our territory without a fight!"

Foxpaw lashed her tail. Brokenstar might have said or insinuated they were after ThunderClan territory but they had all of WindClan's territory now. They couldn't possibly want more territory unless they were expecting more mouths to feed and, considering how many kits have died since Brokenstar rose to power, Foxpaw didn't think that was possible. There was no reason queens would want to have kits at this. The queens wouldn't feel safe.

No, this wasn't about territory. Foxpaw looked at Yellowfang, and felt sick. What could Brokenstar possibly think Yellowfang knew that he needed to cover it up by convincing his Clan and ThunderClan that she was a kit killer and then organize his cats to kill her? And why would ShadowClan go after the kits instead of Yellowfang directly?

That part of the book had never made any sense to her. She had always felt that the Erins had shoved that scenario in just so that they could have conflict in the first book and have a reason to make Firepaw a warrior early. Since everything else had been mostly different, she couldn't expect that to happen either.

A dusky dark brown tom shouldered into her, his expression serious and gaze worried. "We need to keep an eye on Yellowfang," said Dustpelt, and Foxpaw could hear his claws scrape into the ground.

"If she is guilty of the crime, I doubt that it's Yellowfang who we need to worry about," said Foxpaw. "She's less likely to attack them with every cat watching. However, ShadowClan might attack if they think she's endangering our kits."

"What?" said Dustpelt, in honest confusion.

"Think about it," said Foxpaw. "If ShadowClan really just wanted more hunting grounds, he'd have just claimed WindClan territory for his own. With WindClan gone and with RiverClan cats only interest in fish, Brokenstar can just take over that territory. Instead, he's trying to invade us."

"But why?" said Dustpelt, seeing some sense in what she was saying. He gazed nervously up towards Yellowfang's den, where Firepaw was talking to her.

"What do you think?" asked Foxpaw. "He's after Yellowfang."

Dustpelt suddenly looked determined. "Then we really should have exiled her," he meowed seriously. "She's a danger to our kits and a danger to our Clan."

Foxpaw twitched her ears in irritation. It felt like only half of what she was saying was being listened to. "You've got bees in your brain if you think she's a danger to our kits. That's just what Brokenstar wants us to think, and I'm sure he wants ShadowClan to think the same."

Dustpelt shook his head. "There's no reason any leader would want to kill their medicine cat."

"Would you have said the same about medicine cats not a few days ago?" Foxpaw asked. "The only reason ShadowClan turned on Yellowfang was because they thought she had done something to break the warrior code. Who told them she had broken the warrior code? I'll bet a bunch of rabbits that that cat was Brokenstar, and I think I know why."

A quiet moment passed between them.

"Well don't keep me in suspense," meowed Dustpelt.

Foxpaw blinked at him, surprised. "Well, you said a while ago that ShadowClan cats were really small. Are all ShadowClan cats small?"

"No, the warriors are the same size as us," meowed Dustpelt. "The apprentices are tiny, though."

"About as small as, say, Cinderkit?"

The dusty brown tabby warrior looked up towards the nursery as sudden realization dawned. "A little bigger than that, but yes." He shook his head. "But no leader would dare to break the warrior code!"

Foxpaw felt like she was arguing with stupid. "And no medicine cat would have killed a kit. Those two statements can't both be true, Dustpelt. While we have no evidence that Yellowfang has broken the warrior code, we do have evidence that Brokenstar has." She stared at Dustpelt, studying his shocked expression. "I'm more willing to believe that Brokenstar killed those kits than Yellowfang did and I'm guessing he did it when he decided they were old enough for training."

Dustpelt stared at Yellowfang, slowly shaking his head. "You're wrong," he meowed. "No one in ShadowClan would have allowed it."

"The warrior code does say that one must respect and obey their leader," meowed Foxpaw. "Doesn't it?"

Dustpelt shook his head. "You're wrong," he said. "That's not possible. You're wrong."

"And why am I wrong?" asked Foxpaw, feeling like she was pushing Dustpelt a bit too far but unable to stop herself. Dustpelt knew that she was right, but he was unable to believe it. Foxpaw couldn't really wrap her own mind around it; she couldn't really bring herself to understand Dustpelt's position. Why couldn't Dustpelt just accept that cats weren't ever what they seemed to be? Firepaw may have been a kittypet but he was a great warrior. Tigerclaw was a great warrior but he was a murderer. Brokenstar was a charismatic leader but he was a kit killer. She had run into a mental wall in his head and couldn't figure out how to climb over it nor did she really want to. She decided to dismiss Dustpelt.

"We should get some sleep," she said tersely, angry that - for once - something had not gone her way. She felt that was very unreasonable of herself, but she couldn't help it. She had been expecting this to be easy - if it was easy to hunt and to drive off foxes, why could it not be easy to reason with the cats? StarClan had spoiled her. "Maybe there will be more answers tomorrow."

When they padded to the apprentice den, Graypaw and Sandpaw were there to greet them.

Dustpelt perked up. "So, what happened?"

"Well, _as you know_ , Brokenstar demanded hunting rights..." began Graypaw.

Foxpaw slipped into the den and sought out Firepaw, hoping to find someone who would believe her. "Firepaw?" she meowed, only to find that the tom was already asleep. She contemplated waking him up, but realized that she was being selfish and decided to let Firepaw sleep.

She pulled some of her moss closer to Ravenpaw's sleeping form and realized as she settled down that Ravenpaw's ears were flicking around too much for him to actually be asleep. "Ravenpaw?" But the black tom merely tensed and said nothing, trying to feign sleep.

For the first time, Foxpaw realized just out of touch she was with these cats. They had grown up their whole lives believing in their warrior code was their bread and water, that their Clanmates were trustworthy and dependable. She had grown up a human being and learned pretty early on that not everyone was trustworthy... something which she shared with loners.

Foxpaw found herself stretching out on the ground and beyond her mossy bed, like she would as a human. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself back in her bedroom. Time seemed to pass slowly and she wasn't aware of when she finally fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: A little about the queens and kits; I always had this sense that Frostfur was loud, stupid and laid around a lot. She was obsessed over the kits in book 1 and jumped to conclusions at the drop of a hat, and that's how I've always seen her. For the white kits, you can guess as to who they are. They are from canon but their appearances have changed and so has their parentage.**

 **I've also changed the parentage of Brightpaw, who is now the daughter of Goldenflower and Patchpelt and Swiftpaw's littermate. They both a close, brother-sister relation in canon, and a lot of people have assumed they were siblings any. Plus, it's genetically accurate for Brightpaw. Her father is a black and white tom, where she gets her white spotting, and her mother is a ginger she-cat, where she gets her ginger fur. She has also been changed to a mostly white cat, with ginger splotches, and one black spot on her head.**

 **In canon, Brightheart, Thornclaw, Brackenfur and Cinderpelt were all siblings in the same litter, though two of them were apprentices about two moons too early. Since Brightheart is now Goldenflower's kit, I've decided that Brackenfur, Cinderpelt, and Thornclaw are going to be Brindleface's and Lionheart's kits. I can't think of anything else in the nursery to talk about, so let's move on.  
**

 **The warrior ceremonies; Dustpelt and Sandstorm, as far as I can tell in the books, had been apprentices for five moons before Firepaw was made a warrior. Firepaw only had three moons of training. Favoritism much? So, Dustpelt and Sandstorm have been made warriors after four moons of training, as they should be. Ravenpaw's ceremony is delayed, despite being Dustpelt's brother, because he "isn't trying hard enough yet" as Tigerclaw or Foxpaw might put it.**

 **The apprentices ceremonies; Runningwind never had an apprentice, as far as I can tell. Swiftpaw, due to theme naming, seems like the best apprentice for Runningwind. They both share many qualities. Brightpaw seemed like a good apprentice for Longtail, as she is eager to please and so is he. As for Darkstripe and Foxpaw... they are both bold and intelligent. Bluestar's is hoping their mutual qualities will help them to teach each other something new.  
**

 **What, did you guys really think I'd give her to someone like Whitestorm? No way! That would be making it too easy for her.**

 **Last Edited: May 25, 2018**


	6. Into the Wild pt 6

"You must be exhausted. Get some rest," had been the last thing her new mentor had told her before she had retired to the apprentice's den.

It had been four days since the Gathering and Foxpaw did not like her mentor one bit. He and Tigerclaw trained their apprentice's together all the time, and Ravenpaw was proving himself to be neither a good opponent or an interesting one.

Foxpaw had eaten the latest squirrel she caught with Darkstripe – the cat insisted that the two of them share prey every chance they could get. Foxpaw felt like the prey always turned to ash in her mouth and was grateful that Darkstripe did not insist for anything more. He was just _really, really_ creepy. She was the first female apprentice he had and she was definitely of age so she wasn't entirely concerned that she'd get flak for clawing his muzzle off if he tried pushing it. What concerned her was that he was a well-trained warrior and she was not. Despite his lazy nature and despite her lack of battle experience, she was not sure she'd be able to defend herself should it get any worse, especially if they were alone.

On the one paw, giving Foxpaw to the soonest available and experienced mentor meant that now Bluestar could focus on Firepaw's training. She was, after all, grooming him to become leader of ThunderClan. That was obvious in the books and was equally obvious here, only moreso now that Foxpaw had her own mentor.

No wonder Tigerclaw looked at them both together with annoyance and disgust. _His chance at deputyship slips away with each moon_ , she thought. _He's bound to try and do something about it sooner or later._

But Bluestar had no idea what Darkstripe was capable of. _Foxpaw_ had no idea what he was capable of. She had read about too many rumors and none of them were particularly flattering, which she had always found disappointing. Darkstripe had struck her as the kind of cat who thought he was doing the right thing and that Tigerclaw was meant to be deputy and then leader of the Clans, but when StarClan dumped him in the Place of No Stars, he immediately regretted his whole life and tried to find a way out and home to StarClan. There was tragedy in his life.

 _But he had tried to kill Sorrelkit_ , she thought. That was what unnerved the most. A future kit-killer was sitting in the camp with her. He was her mentor!

The sun was still up, and she couldn't sleep. She had never fallen asleep during daylight before. The wind blew through the leaves in their lullaby, but when Foxpaw closed her eyes she only saw the warmth of the sunlight behind her eyelids. She put her tail over her face, but the fur irritated her eyes. She was not exhausted and she itched to prowl through the pine trees, searching for a mouse or a rabbit.

The newfound fire she had discovered during her battle training with Firepaw had made her even more restless and determined to have battle training. With each time she tossed Ravenpaw aside during training and each vole or squirrel that fell to her claws only made her long for it even more. She wanted Brokenstar beneath her claws.

She wanted a fight.

When she slept, she dreamed of ShadowClan's camp. She stood at the edge of the clearing looking up at the equivalent of Highrock; Clanrock. It had been worn smooth by many paws running all over it's surface for many generations. She dreamed of the three moon old kits – half the weight of six moon old kits - and their short bodies. She dreamed of the dark ragged tabby tom covered in patched fur and scars. She dreams of the tom becoming displeased with his charges, of unleashing anger upon them for being too small – the weak blood of the Clan slipping through to the next generation and falling at his paws. His amber eyes flashed with hunger and power. For the first time, his gaze landed on her and his teeth bared in a grin, and he lunged across the clearing with a sudden screech.

Foxpaw jolted awake. Hisses and screeches suddenly began to fill the air outside. Foxpaw jerked to her paws, excitement pumping through her veins, and Graypaw, Ravenpaw and Firepaw had already left the den. Foxpaw was alone with two nervous and untrained apprentices. Her mind flashed to the two ShadowClan kits and she realized what she needed to do.

"Brightpaw, Swiftpaw," she meowed, stepping up to the entrance and ignoring the wall of harsh mash-scent which seemed float in through the open entrance. "Head to the elder's den and defend it with your lives. These ShadowClan cats will attack anyone they can get their claws in. They won't let something like the warrior code stop them."

The new apprentices nodded in understanding, sudden purpose squaring their shoulders and causing determination to flicker in their eyes. When Foxpaw stepped out, she looked down the slight slope to the barrier. It had been completely crushed in the first assault, and ThunderClan had roused quickly to face them.

She looked back. "Move now and quickly! Those warriors can't hold the line forever!"

Brightpaw and Swiftpaw darted out and shot across the clearing towards the elder's den. The chaos of the fighting was approaching the dens slowly, with the ThunderClan warriors unable to hold out forever against the sheer ferocity of the ShadowClan cats. ShadowClan and ThunderClan fought one-on-one.

An unexplained fear had filled her, as she remembered her training sessions with Firepaw and how she was unable to defend herself against his faster and more agile attacks. After a brief moment of hesitation, Foxpaw stalked quickly up to the nursery and slipped inside.

"Get out!" hissed Frostfur.

"Calm down!" meowed Foxpaw, afraid the jumpy she-cat would scratch her ears off. "I'm here to help!" She looked over the cats and saw her own fear reflected in their eyes. "How well defended is this nursery?"

"Well enough," meowed Brindleface. "You should be out fighting with the others."

Foxpaw shook her head. "I haven't had enough training for it yet."

Foxpaw looks around at the other cats. The screeching and yowling from outside made it near impossible to hear anything even inside the den. Cinderkit, Brackenkit and Thornkit meowed loudly in excitement, while only one tiny she-cat's voice could be heard from Frostfur's nest. Frostfur, Brindleface and Speckletail were the only ones left in the nursery.

"Cinderkit, Brackenkit and Thornkit," Foxpaw practically barked. "Take those two mewling kits to the back of nursery and keep an eye on the bramble thicket. If you hear anyone trying to break through, you tell one of us immediately. Speckletail, you stay with them and claw any ShadowClan's nose who might poke through." She looked at the other queens in the nursery. "Can anyone join the fighting?"

"What about you?" meowed Brindleface, and Foxpaw could smell her fear-scent.

"I can attack, sure, but my training is limited," she meowed, ears flattening.

"Where are Brightpaw and Swiftpaw?" meowed Goldenflower, and Foxpaw gazed steadily into her eyes.

"They're protecting the elders," she meowed.

Goldenflower looked relieved and then determined. "I'll join them. I'm not a queen anymore, and my Clan and kits need me."

Foxpaw nodded as Goldenflower rushed outside. "I thought as much," she meowed, looking at the other queens. "I'm here to help with the defense of this nursery and make sure all of us get out alive. Brindleface, Frostfur, we want these ShadowClan cats to get in only from this entrance. If they make it any wider, we lose our advantage. If any get passed it, claw them up. I'll deal with handling anyone who tries to widen it or try to open another entrance."

The two queens nodded, their fear-scent vanishing as the settled on the new plan. Foxpaw hoped that she was right and that this wasn't just for not. The books had only described Blackfoot trying to steal the kits during the battle, though they never explained how he planned on taking them back to camp. Most of these kits were too big to carry.

Foxpaw turned and half-emerged from the den, looking down at the line. The ShadowClan cats were already breaking through but only on the side of the Highrock and medicine cat den. A tortoiseshell she-cat with brown, white and cream spots was fighting Firepaw at the other side of the camp. Clawface was busy fighting Lionheart and Tigerclaw, the two having united against him. Foxpaw had no time to think on that and she turned her attention to the other cats. Bluestar and a big brown tabby cat with ragged fur fought each other viciously closer to the entrance, and Foxpaw realized it was Brokenstar. The entire thicket wall and tunnel entrance had been completely trampled by the fighting cats.

A giant white tom suddenly emerged from the fighting cats and turned towards her, eyes flashing. His big black paws were unmistakable.

"Incoming!" she shouted over her shoulder and tensed herself, charging across the clearing to meet the big white tom. She and he were almost equal in weight and size, but he was more experienced. Foxpaw slammed into him with the full weight and force of her body, knocking him over. She slashed at his side and backed off before his claws could swipe her. They paused, sizing each other up. Neither of them had managed to hurt each other.

"Get them!" snarled Brokenstar, blood dripping from his maw and amber eyes flashing before he was once again locked against Bluestar in battle.

Blackfoot turned his back on Foxpaw and the fox-colored she-cat leaped on his back, claws racking his haunches and back as his hind legs collapsed under the unexpected weight. Blackfoot twisted around and sank his teeth into her paw, causing Foxpaw to yowl in pain. Her claws dug in and Blackfoot twisted her paw off, causing her to lose her grip and balance. She yowled and ripped her paw free, blood dripping freely from it. Blackfoot ignored her and raced forward towards the nursery.

With a hiss of pain as she tried to put her paw down, she forced herself forward to follow, heart pounding. She grabbed a white tail with her teeth, bit hard and yanked on it, causing Blackfoot to back out of the nursery yowling and turn on her, eyes gleaming angrily. She spat out his tail and jerked her head away just as his massive claws lashed out and caught her face.

She staggered back, blood dripping from her cheek, just as Frostfur and Brindleface burst from the nursery, yowling and hissing in fury at Blackfoot. Surrounded, Blackfoot gave a frustrated yowl as he threw himself into the throng of warriors. Foxpaw tried to follow but collapsed, grimacing in agony at her paw.

"Get her inside!" meowed a familiar raspy voice.

Foxpaw twisted towards the voice and was relieved. "Yellowfang."

Frostfur and Brindleface took one look at Yellowfang and hesitated.

"Hurry!" meowed Foxpaw, rising onto her three good paws. "We need to protect the nursery. Yellowfang might have been ShadowClan but she's a healer and a fighter. We could use both now." She looked over the chaos unfolding.

Blackfoot might have been chased off but he had regrouped with Brokenstar. Blackfoot's back was covered in red welts and his haunch was stained red. Foxpaw knew that a second wave of ShadowClan warriors was only a short while in coming. She padded quickly into the nursery and looked around.

"Brackenkit, report!" she barked as she entered.

"No one's gotten in yet, sir!" meowed Brackenkit, his chest fluffed up in importance.

"Good, keep it that way," she meowed, turning around. "ShadowClan is rallying for another attempt. Yellowfang, did anyone enter the elder's den?"

"No," meowed the old she-cat, her flinty eyes narrowed.

"Have you seen what happened to Lionheart?" Foxpaw asked.

"No," she meowed, tail twitching.

"Right," said Foxpaw with a deep breath. "Frostfur, Brindleface, keep an eye on that entrance. Yellowfang, you're on the attack. Watch out for the ShadowClan's second wave. Cinderkit, Thornkit, I need you to take care of this wound for me. Grab as much moss as you can."

From outside the den, they heard a loud yowl from Bluestar. "Turn around now, ShadowClan! You've lost this fight!"

"We haven't lost anything yet!" Foxpaw did not miss Yellowfang flinch at the sound of Brokenstar's voice. "We are more than ready for a second attack!"

"Foxpaw!" meowed Speckletail, her fear-scent raw. "They are coming in."

Foxpaw could hear the noise of branches tearing under claws in the silence which followed Brokenstar's statement. "The coward!" snarled Foxpaw, pushing Cinderkit and Thornkit away from her paw. "Get the kits and move them over there!" she hissed, pointing with her tail. "Frostfur, Brindleface, take up positions either side of that noise. Yellowfang, prepare to attack. Brackenkit, Cinderkit, Thornkit, be prepared to grab a kit and head to the elder's den. Speckletail, grab the loud kit and get ready to follow them."

"What about your wound?" asked Cinderkit, looking nervously at the bloody moss.

"Yellowfang can deal with it later. For now, your lives are at stake. Understood?"

Foxpaw waited for the three kits to state confirmation before padding out into the camp, looking over the warriors that waited at the bottom of the clearing. The two groups were leery about getting into a fight and were obviously stalling.

"Looks like some of your warriors have already fled!" meowed Darkstripe, his lips pulled back into a snarl. He pointed out the distinct lack of some ShadowClan cats.

"They're stalling!" yowled Foxpaw, hoarsely. "They've got warriors breaking into the back of the nursery! Bluestar, we need a protective barrier to move the kits to the elder's den!"

"What?" meowed Willowpelt in horror.

The ShadowClan warriors tensed, nervously twitching their tails.

"ShadowClan attack!" yowled Brokenstar.

"Block them!" yowled Tigerclaw. "Move!"

The ThunderClan cats surged forward to meet the much smaller ShadowClan forces with renewed vigor.

"Speckletail, kits, move on my mark!" said Foxpaw, moving between the nursery and the barrier. "Mark!"

The three older kits surged out of the den with the tiny white she-cat between them, her eyes wide with shock and mouth shut. Speckletail followed, the tom hanging from her mouth and seemingly limp, and they turned up the slope to the elder's den. Turning her attention away from them, Foxpaw searched the throng of thrashing cats and saw Brokenstar's face contorted with rage. They locked eyes and Foxpaw held her breath for a moment.

"ShadowClan, retreat!" Brokenstar yowled, tail lashing, eyes following the kits as they disappeared into the elder's den. "Retreat!"

The ShadowClan cats didn't need to be told twice. Tired and bloody, they turned back into the forest and fled. ThunderClan cats yowled in triumph. Foxpaw didn't feel like joining in the celebration; with every battle their was a risk that they'd lost another life.

"Where's Lionheart?" she meowed, hobbling across the clearing. A cold stone seemed to have found a permanent place in her gut. "Where's Spottedleaf?"

A yowl of grief split the air. Foxpaw hobbled towards the noise and her heart sank at the sight.

A familiar black, white and orange spotted cat lay dead in the dust, with a familiar orange tom leaning over her. Foxpaw was surprised to see the medicine cat lying there, her mind racing for an explanation. Firepaw's watery eyes seemed to stare at nothing as he pressed his face into shoulder fur.

Another yowl of grief split the air and Foxpaw turned to see Graypaw had practically merged with what remained of ThunderClan's deputy, as if he could somehow give life to the body with his entire being. Lionheart was dead. Foxpaw felt sick and dizzy and she padded over to the yellow tabby's lifeless body. Graypaw looked at her in confusion, but his gaze was unfocused.

Foxpaw curled up next to Lionheart's head and licked his cheek, unable to stop the tears from building up around her eyes. "You're never going to tell me about the warrior code now," she meowed quietly into his ear. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you from your fate."

She work hours later to find that Lionheart's body was missing. She surged to her paws and started when her head scraped underbrush and her injured paw, now swathed in cobwebs, touched the ground. She was back in the prisoner's den, near enough to the medicine cat den to be properly treated. Confused, she padded out of the den and into the sunlight, staring around at the camp.

Spottedleaf and Lionheart had already been taken out of the camp, and Foxpaw felt a stab of sadness that she hadn't watched them go as a final farewell. After a few seconds of silence, she looked over the rest of her Clanmates, taking solace in the fact that they were still alive. Patches of cobwebs covered their coat but they all seemed well enough to work and walk. A few were missing, but Foxpaw guessed (read: hoped) they are all out on patrol. She stretched each of her limbs, careful to keep her injured foot off the ground, before padding up to the medicine cat den.

"What do you want?" meowed Yellowfang, annoyed. "Unless you're dying, I don't want to hear it."

Foxpaw couldn't help but crack a grin at the grouchy she-cat. "Good to see that life's returning to normal."

Yellowfang frowned. "When is it ever 'normal'?" she groused. "Can't get a wink of sleep around here without someone pulling a muscle, or scraping their paws."

Foxpaw chuckled. "I take it you've taken over all duties of a medicine cat."

"Mostly," meowed Yellowfang, flicking her ears toward the nursery, "though it seems they've got everything covered. I'm sure you'll want to see them." There was a knowing look in her eyes and Foxpaw wondered what StarClan might have told her about the kits. Her thoughts went to the squirrel and she shuddered.

"I should probably go check on them," she meowed.

"Not today you won't. Go back to your nest and rest," meowed Yellowfang. "That's an order."

Foxpaw nodded and tiredly padded back into the prisoner's den, curling up and falling almost instantly back asleep. She woke that night, jerked out of a dream she could not remember. She rose to her three good paws quickly and padded out in the moon bleached night, eyes scanning the clearing. She remembered how the squirrel looked in a light extremely similar to the one that now bleached the clearing, and a sudden feeling of dread filled her stomach and she hobbled quickly over to the nursery.

The smell of blood hit her as she poked her nose in. Heart pounding, she weaved through the queens to the back of the nursery and froze at the sight of a tiny dead white tom. In the half-light, he looked almost like the omen did. It took her half a second to realize what had happened.

"Rouse the Clan!" she yowled. "Snowkit is dead! A ShadowClan tom has stolen Mistlekit!"

* * *

 **A/N: I've always wondered why StarClan never gave any omens about Brokenstar to the other Clans. That seems like something you'd want to warn ThunderClan about. Don't let the kit killer get your kits! Though, to be fair, with how everything has been going, sending that omen to anyone but Yellowfang or someone who already knows Yellowfang is innocent would only get them to try and kill Yellowfang and that would be bad.  
**

 **Until next Monday.**

 **Last Edited: June 28, 2017**


	7. Into the Wild pt 7

Foxpaw raced through the camp, hobbling towards Bluestar's den. "A ShadowClan tom has taken Mistlekit! Snowkit is dead! He's headed to the border!" Her shout was followed immediately by Frostfur's brokenhearted wailing, Brindleface terrified screeching "My kits! My kits are gone!", and Goldenflower yowling, "Speckletail is dead!"

Pandemonium broke out. Cats rushed out of their dens in a panic, yowls of anger and terror filled the camp, as everyone rushed around. Foxpaw was shaking uncontrollably. She almost collided with Bluestar, who was on her way out.

"Bluestar!" Foxpaw yowled, gasping for air. "A ShadowClan tom has taken the kits! He's headed to the border!"

Bluestar nodded and streamed passed, yowling out words Foxpaw was deaf to. Foxpaw sat down and half turned towards the Clan, an uncontrollable shaking stealing over her. She felt sick to her stomach. Images of maggot-ridden corpses danced through her head, of Snowkit and of Mistlekit. She hardly heard Bluestar's response as the leader raced away and up onto Highrock to call for silence. She couldn't trust her own legs to hold up her weight and she felt them start to slide out from under her, staring in shock at her treacherous legs.

Suddenly, warm fur pressed into her side. She heard meowing but it sounded far away. She jumped when a leaf wrap unfurled between her forelegs, like a green flower. She looked up in surprise to find Ravenpaw staring down at her worriedly.

"It's thyme," he meowed, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"It helps with shock," meowed a familiar tom beside her and she looked at Dustpelt, the dark brown ticked tabby warrior pressing into her fur comfortingly.

"Yellowfang said you would need it," Ravenpaw added hurriedly. "You chew it and swallow it."

Foxpaw felt like a machine, lifeless, but she opened her mouth and chewed the leaves. She couldn't taste it; her mouth and tongue felt dry and numb. She tried to swallow, but she couldn't tell if she was actually swallowing anything until all the green stuff was gone.

"Let's move her to the apprentice's den," meowed Dustpelt softly. Ravenpaw nodded.

Foxpaw soon found herself nudged and prodded to her paws and carefully herded towards the apprentice's den. The world around was a blur of fur and confusion and Dustpelt and Ravenpaw were the only things that seemed to move at the same pace as her. She followed Ravenpaw into the den, with Dustpelt a pawstep behind her, nosing her forward. She settled on her nest and collapsed. Ravenpaw and Dustpelt pressed into her fur in silent comfort.

Her thoughts were sluggish at first when she finally began to absorb the world around her again. The first thing she noticed was that the feud between Ravenpaw and Dustpelt, at least what she remembered of it from the books, seemed to have been on a temporary hold to help her. She was flattered and proud they could set this aside for her but she was also very confused. There was a deeper connection between the two toms that no feud could severe. They were brothers, and today they had united to help her.

 _Why?_ she wondered and looked at Dustpelt, only to see the tenderness in his eyes. Her heart stopped.

Ravenpaw had helped Dustpelt because Dustpelt loved her. That was what it meant to be Clan. Foxpaw realized she could trust these cats with her lives and wished that she could somehow return the favor.

She rose to her paws, startling both toms. "I need to rebuild the nursery," she meowed at last.

"You need your rest," said Dustpelt, anguish in his voice. "You've had a bad shock."

"I know, but Brokenstar might be back and we need to be ready," meowed Foxpaw, her legs feeling steady and solid underneath her. "And we are short four cats."

Dustpelt blinked at her and nodded his understanding, reluctant. "Okay. We need to get back to our duties, too." He touched his nose to hers before padding out.

 _I'm a Clan cat now,_ she thought. _I have a responsibility to my Clan._

After she had looked over the damage to the back of the nursery, the sounds of kits mewing drew her outside into the camp. She watched silently as Goldenflower lead Cinderkit, Brackenkit and Thornkit towards the nursery, with Snowkit swinging from her jaws.

 _Not Snowkit_ , she realized, her heart suddenly sinking. She imagined the deaf cat, playing by himself in the middle of the clearing with Speckletail watching proudly. The shadow of a hawk passed over the camp and Foxpaw looked up to the see the very real dark brown shape disappear beyond the tree tops. Speckletail and Snowkit were gone. Lionheart and Spottedleaf were were watching over them in StarClan now.

Foxpaw's gaze settled on the loudly meowing kits as they explained why they had disappeared and congratulating themselves on how brave they were for stalking Clawface! A hot fury suddenly spread throughout her fur and she padded angrily towards them. "Thornkit, Cinderkit, Brackenkit!" barked Foxpaw. The three kits immediately straightened and padded up to Foxpaw, looking confused but expectant and excited. Foxpaw's expression was thunderous."What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"We tracked Clawface and Mistlekit to the border!" meowed Brackenkit, his expression confused as he realized Foxpaw was angry. "Bluestar and her patrol arrived and helped us to rescue her, Foxpaw!"

Foxpaw lashed her tail. "Did you not think for a moment that you should have warned the Clan about Clawface?"

The three kits flinched. "We were going to rescue her!" meowed Thornkit defensively, glancing at his confused siblings.

"And if you had failed?" Foxpaw half-snarled.

"Foxpaw," said Goldenflower but stopped when the apprentice hissed.

"You were planning to go up against a warrior with seasons of battle experience and _who had recently killed_ Snowkit _for no reason!_ " she yowled. " _You're lucky to be alive, you furbrains! Do you really think you would have become warriors after being so mouse-brained? No, because you'd all be maimed or dead!"_

Foxpaw was shaking, struggling to breathe and to not fluff up her fur. The kits looked stricken, and that was stabbing her in the heart.

"We only wanted to..." meowed Cinderkit, eyes watery.

Foxpaw breathed out a sigh and all her anger bled away into disappointment and frustration. "You wanted to be warriors, just like in your games," she meowed, "but a warrior listens to the warrior code and works _with_ the Clan to save every individual in it. You were not thinking like warriors when you ran off to handle the ShadowClan tom all on your own; you were thinking like kits playing and that almost cost _us_ your lives. This is not a game!"

"I'm sorry," meowed Brackenkit.

Foxpaw's voice became very quiet. "' _Sorry_ ' wouldn't have brought you back if you died. ' _Sorry'_ won't make you into warriors. Neither would have getting yourselves killed."

Foxpaw looked at their crestfallen faces and couldn't help but sigh. "Now," she meowed, sending a prayer to StarClan for strength. "The nursery needs to be repaired before something like this happens again. I need your help. Can I count on you?"

The three kits blinked away tears and straightened, looking serious and grim. "You can count on us," meowed Brackenkit solemnly, and Thornkit nodded.

"Good," said Foxpaw. "Now, I need you three to find a bramble thicket and I'm going to need you to dig it up by the roots and bring it to the back of the nursery. Try not to damage the roots."

The three kits rushed off. Foxpaw took an unsteady breath and licked her chest to help her calm down. She felt a pelt pressed into her side.

"They're going to be fine," meowed Goldenflower gently.

"Snowkit isn't," meowed Foxpaw, feeling her eyes start to water. "I failed to protect him."

"No one could have known ShadowClan would send a warrior to steal our kits," meowed Goldenflower. "It's never happened before."

 _I knew_ , she thought with a pang. "How could I ever forgive myself if they died, too," she half-whimpered.

"They're in good paws," meowed Goldenflower. "I'm sure you will make a great mentor one day."

Foxpaw could help a short, trembling laugh. "Not a good queen?"

Goldenflower purred. "Oh, you'll be a great queen, too."

Foxpaw laughed and nudged Goldenflower. "Come on, let's see what we can do about that hole in the nursery."

It was a little before dusk when Brindleface and Frostfur kicked her and Goldenflower out of the nursery on account of her smelling like a wet dog. Foxpaw's whole body ached from the long hours of hard work and she was grateful for the reprieve. They immediately went to eat a squirrel together.

"Goldenflower," she meowed at last, "can you tell Dustpelt I'm okay? He seemed pretty upset when I... freaked out earlier."

Goldenflower nodded, licking a delicate paw of blood. "I promise," she meowed. "Goodnight, Foxpaw."

"Goodnight, Goldenflower."

Foxpaw retired to the apprentice's den and nudged Ravenpaw gently with a paw to wake the apprentice. His head jerked up like he had heard a shot.

"Foxpaw," he said, questioningly.

"I wanted to say thank you," she meowed, hesitating. "And... I know what Tigerclaw did."

Ravenpaw spasmed, glancing around in shock. "I never said- who told you-?" His eyes were wide in fright.

"No one, StarClan as my witness," Foxpaw meowed calmly, putting a five-toed paw on her chest as if to cross her heart. "I want to repay you."

Ravenpaw was stunned. "It's no problem, Foxpaw," he meowed, nervously. "I know what it's like to see someone you care about die."

"I know," said Foxpaw.

An awkward silence followed.

"Ravenpaw," she meowed, suddenly worried. "I need you to trust me, okay? I know what Tigerclaw is planning to do. If he ever tells you to hunt in ShadowClan territory-" Here she paused and looked around, before moving closer to Ravenpaw to whisper in his ear. "-don't hunt anything. Just hide in a bush and head up the Thunderpath towards the Highstones. There's a tunnel under every thunderpath every few hundred foxlengths. It's to prevent water from turning to ice in the cracks during leaf-bare, to drain out the water. When you find it, go straight to Bluestar and tell her about it. If she doesn't announce it, tell me and I'll make sure everyone hears about it, okay?"

Ravenpaw nodded, but his eyes were wide with confusion. "Why?"

"Trust me," meowed Foxpaw more urgently. "I will tell you exactly where the tunnel is if I find it, but don't come back until you find it and don't use any other way back across. Do you understand?"

Ravenpaw nodded, still confused, and Foxpaw relaxed. "Goodnight, Ravenpaw."

"Foxpaw," meowed Ravenpaw quietly, "can you come with me?"

"With you where?" Foxpaw asked, her mind racing to Barley's barn.

"Anywhere?" Ravenpaw asked nervously.

The fox-colored she-cat nodded. "Sure thing, Ravenpaw."

Foxpaw curled up in her nest and closed her eyes, images of Snowkit's body having been replaced with dark amber eyes, flashing yellow teeth, and ragged dark brown fur. The scent of the marsh was thick and heavy around her..

* * *

Foxpaw awoke when she felt others stirring in the apprentice's den. Her head shot up and she turned her gaze towards the trio's nest, but all three of them were gone. Realizing what was about to happen, she quickly rose to her paws, skirting Brightpaw's and Swiftpaw's nest, and padded out into the camp. A black tail with a white tail tip disappeared into the medicine cat's fern tunnel. Yellowfang emerged a scant few seconds later, ignoring Foxpaw's presence and heading towards the entrance to the camp. Foxpaw watched her in confusion, but the guard at vigil let her pass. Understanding dawned, and Foxpaw made her way to the dirt place. It wasn't hard to find the little tunnel which she could use to sneak out of the camp. She walked out behind the nursery, taking a moment to feel proud of her repairs. Then she hurriedly stalked towards the ShadowClan border, sniffing the ground for Yellowfang's distinct scent. She followed it up to the edge of the Thunderpath and halted there, waiting.

She did not have to wait long. A few minutes later, Firepaw, Graypaw and Ravenpaw came rushing out of the trees and halted in shock around her. She glanced at Ravenpaw. An uncomfortable silence hung between them, with Firepaw looking a lot like a deer in the headlights.

"I meant what I said," she meowed at last. "If you think you are going into ShadowClan, then you've got another thing coming, Ravenpaw."

Firepaw made a noise. "Foxpaw, it's not what you think-"

Ravenpaw interrupted him, blurting out. "Firepaw thinks it would be safer if I left the Clan."

Firepaw flashed a confused look at Ravenpaw, but the black tom was looking at the fox-colored apprentice.

"Safer for you, perhaps," meowed Foxpaw softly, "but do you really want to abandon the Clan? You'll be letting Tigerclaw take over."

"He's already the deputy," meowed Ravenpaw. "No one can stop him now."

"If that is truly what you believe, then do you really think Firepaw can protect you from him? You are the only witness to his crime, Ravenpaw. If you leave, do you really think they'd accept you back with open paws without questioning where your loyalties lie? Why should they believe a runaway rogue over a respected Clan cat? Whatever credibility you have now will be lost if you run away from this." Foxpaw paused, wrapping her tail around her paws. "And you'll be farther away from trying to stop Tigerclaw."

Ravenpaw was silent, staring at his paws. "You think I'm a coward, don't you?"

Foxpaw was silent for a moment, causing him to look up at her. "What I think about you doesn't matter," she meowed finally. "You are right; you'll be safer away from the Clans. But ThunderClan will not be safer if you go. Are you loyal to ThunderClan?"

"Of course, I'm loyal!" Ravenpaw meowed, sounding like he was trying to convince himself that. He glanced at Firepaw and suddenly seemed to choke on his fear. "I have to stay..."

Firepaw looked frustrated. "Then what can we do? Tigerclaw will kill him; he's been plotting it for a while now."

"Use your head," meowed Foxpaw. "Tigerclaw can't kill him outright. The Clan is fed off his lies; they are the real danger right now. They will not hesitate to attack Ravenpaw just because they _think_ he's a traitor so the first thing we have to do is prove that idea false. Unfortunately, we will have to save that for another day."

The trio of apprentices looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?" meowed Firepaw, suspicious.

"You were planning on going to ShadowClan territory," meowed Foxpaw. "I'd bet Yellowfang is waiting for you somewhere over there. Am I wrong?"

"No," Firepaw admitted, looking pained. "We- she wanted to help ShadowClan. Bluestar and the Clan are preparing to attack ShadowClan, but Yellowfang thinks there might be dissension among ShadowClan. A lot of cats aren't happy with Brokenstar's rule."

"I figured as much," Foxpaw meowed. "I'll come with you. Someone has to be keep their eyes open for opportunities and I obviously can't count on any of you to think anything through."

"Okay," Firepaw relented, glancing at the sky. "We don't have much time."

"Maybe we can use the tunnel?" asked Ravenpaw.

Foxpaw shook her head. "It would take too long to find. I'll signal for you to cross the thunderpath."

The flat black path cut through the forest, a shallow ditch on either side. Foxpaw placed a paw on the thunderpath to feel for vibrations, not even bothering to hide from the monsters, and signaled for her tail when she felt it was safe to cross. They bolted to the other side and Firepaw lead them down Yellowfang's scent trail until they were many foxlengths in ShadowClan territory. He halted among a patch of grasses.

"Yellowfang?" he asked, stalking through the undergrowth like he was looking for prey, his shoulder fur ruffled.

Crouching next to Ravenpaw, Foxpaw was reminded of how big she was compared to the smaller apprentice. She licked her white chest fur thoughtfully and looked around at the marsh surrounding them. They had avoided stepping in the muddy water. Strangely, she didn't feel like she was on enemy ground. She felt like she was almost home. Her heart pounded with excitement.

A sharp hiss came from the undergrowth. "Did you bring the whole of ThunderClan?" Yellowfang rasped, fur fluffed up as she looked at Foxpaw.

"Nope," meowed Foxpaw. "Just me and two kits."

"Even worse," groused Yellowfang.

Firepaw's tail lashed. "Do you want help or not?" he meowed, the fire in his eyes.

Yellowfang growled at him. "Calm down, kittypet," she meowed, but there was a flicker of warmth in her eyes. She jerked her head into the thickets. "This way."

When Graypaw and Firepaw disappeared after Yellowfang, Foxpaw noticed Ravenpaw's hesitation. "Use the shadows."

The cats kept to dry earth and occasionally used knobby tree roots to avoid the marshy liquid. Foxpaw stared at the dirty water curiously, wondering if ShadowClan drank the stuff. Ahead of her, Ravenpaw nervously leaped from tree root to tree root, trying to avoid the water. She reached out a paw into the muddy water and noticed how it clung to her fur, turning her white toes completely brown. After a moment of hesitation, she slipped into the marsh water and kicked off, swimming slowly towards dry land. It ran up to her chin, covering all her white fur.

When she emerged dripping onto the land, Ravenpaw snapped around and looked at her with shock and then confusion. Foxpaw gave him a smug smile and gestured to her white chest and underbelly, now brown with mud. Ravenpaw's eyes widened in understanding. A second later, he dipped a paw into the water and rubbed it into his white chest spot. Then he briefly walked across a puddle of water, making sure only to muddy the white spots. Pleased, Foxpaw and Ravenpaw quickly caught up to the others.

The three cats had gathered under a thicket and they practically jumped out of their fur when the oldest apprentices joined them. Foxpaw couldn't help a purred laugh and, after a moment, Ravenpaw joined in nervously.

"You scared us half to StarClan!" meowed Graypaw with a purr.

"Have fun rolling in the mud?" she rasped, something flashing in her eyes.

"A little," meowed Foxpaw. "I thought it was a good idea. White fur and all."

Yellowfang humphed, not at all surprised. "I'll be back. Stay here and don't be mouse-brained."

"Do you know who you're addressing?" asked Foxpaw, amused.

They huddled under the thicket together, pressing into each other's coats for comfort and warmth. Foxpaw looked at herself thoughtfully, noting how her coat was starting to look ragged.

"If a patrol passes by," meowed Firepaw, "they'll scent us."

"Not if we smell like the marsh," meowed Foxpaw. "You guys need to dunk yourselves with marsh water."

"Are you serious?" asked Graypaw, making a face. "It's going to take ages to get that stuff out of my fur."

Foxpaw's lashed her tail. " _Think_ for a moment. This will disguise our scent."

The other three relented and went for a swim. When Graypaw refused to sink beneath the water's surface for his shoulders, Foxpaw landed on him. After a while, they emerged drenched from the muddy water. They shook water out of their fur, causing their pelt to dry in ragged or spiked clumps.

"We look like ShadowClan warriors!" meowed Ravenpaw, his eyes wide in awe.

Foxpaw glanced at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Ugh, he's right," meowed Graypaw. "We even smell like them?"

A plan suddenly began forming in Foxpaw's mind. "This is good news!" she meowed. "Imagine if we entered the camp looking like ShadowClan and smelling of the marsh! The ShadowClans would think we were of ShadowClan and be more hesitant to attack." Her eyes flashed and narrowed. "If we attacked them looking and smelling like ThunderClan cats, anyone who joined our side would seem like traitors to ShadowClan- which gives them all the more reason to attack us."

Firepaw's eyes flashed in excitement. "You're right," he meowed. "We can avoid needless bloodshed."

Foxpaw racked her claws through mud. "It's more than that," she said. "What would happen if we succeeded here and every cat knew our name was involved? RiverClan would think we were joining forces with ShadowClan. No matter who ended up in charge of ShadowClan, they'd think we were pulling the strings. They would attack us or ShadowClan because they'd feel threatened."

Graypaw snorted. "I doubt that. RiverClan wouldn't attack ShadowClan - remember the Gathering?"

"RiverClan still won't give up Sunningrocks and, if they think we have the advantage, with ShadowClan's help..." Foxpaw looked at each apprentice. "War would surely follow."

"That's brilliant!" purred Graypaw.

"Shut up!" hissed Ravenpaw quietly, glancing around nervously.

The group became quiet.

"Perhaps RiverClan didn't mind giving ShadowClan hunting rights on their territory because they had WindClan territory," meowed Foxpaw thoughtfully. "When ShadowClan gets a new leader, surely that would change."

"But what about after the fighting?" meowed Firepaw, glancing around nervously. "They're bound to recognize we aren't ShadowClan."

Foxpaw put her head on her paws thoughtfully. "Not if we run out of the camp before then. We'd chase Brokenstar and whoever follows him out, but break off to get back to ThunderClan territory." She looked at the other apprentices and noted that they agreed with her plan.

"The ThunderClan patrol will be here soon," meowed Graypaw.

"What's taking Yellowfang so long?" asked Ravenpaw, shifting from paw to paw.

Foxpaw glanced at the sky. They waited anxiously for the patrol or Yellowfang to arrive. There was the sound of paw steps outside of the thicket. Everyone tensed as a ragged old gray head poked through the thicket, her flinty yellow gaze widening in surprise. Foxpaw held her breath.

"Yellowfang, it's just us!" Firepaw said quickly.

The old she-cat looked from one to the other and blinked. "You all look like ShadowClan cats."

"It worked!" Ravenpaw meowed, relieved. Graypaw gave Foxpaw a glance of respect.

"What worked?" meowed a new voice as a black tom pushed through the thicket and stared wide-eyed at the cats in front of him. Before he could yowl in alarm, Yellowfang shushed him with her tail.

"It's the ThunderClan apprentices, Nightpelt," she meowed. Yellowfang locked eyes with Foxpaw and shuddered, causing the apprentice to frown in confusion.

"We will explain the plan fully once the others get here," meowed Firepaw. "There's no point in explaining it twice."

They waited for what felt like hours. Foxpaw felt like she was turning into a ShadowClan cat as she crouched there. Eventually, heavy pawsteps could be heard outside. Foxpaw glanced around.

"Yellowfang," she meowed, "could you-?"

The old she-cat rose to her paws and walked out, halting the patrol in their tracks. A few minutes later, four ThunderClan warriors had joined them in the bush, completely soaked with muddy water. Firepaw finished explaining the plan. Foxpaw tried to ignore the respectful glanced they gave her.

"She's cunning and wise," meowed Nightpelt in approval.

"It might work," meowed Whitestorm, now a dingey brown-gray instead of snow-white, whiskers twitching. "I don't like the idea of impersonating them, though."

"I like the idea of going to war with RiverClan even less," meowed the black tom. "It's worth a try, at least." The frail tom rose to his paws. "I'll give you the signal, once we have delivered the prisoner, of course." He looked at Yellowfang in amusement.

Foxpaw watched the three ShadowClan cats surround Yellowfang and begin their walk into the camp. Whitestorm looked at her, and she realized she was expected to take the lead.

"Alright," she meowed. "Follow my lead and try to sound like the dead brought back to life. Also, try not to get yourself killed."

Foxpaw was as close to the edge of the thicket as she dared, craning her ears forward.

" _StarClan is with us!_ " yowled Nightpelt.

Foxpaw raised her head and wailed, a long low howl, eerie and cold. Something powerful and deep shook Foxpaw to the core; she felt strength suddenly pump into her limbs. They were ShadowClan warriors and Brokenstar's victims brought back from the dead. When she glanced around, she saw a very different motley group of cats. They broke into the camp. For a heartbeat, Foxpaw could only see ShadowClan cats in all direction - the muddy-furred, raggedy pelts of her Clan suddenly glistening like they had dew collected on their fur. It was like looking at a writhing ball of stars, and suddenly she could tell the difference between her Clanmates and the living.

Energy surged through her and she gave a might leap over the writhing cats and cannoned into the side of a big brown tabby tom, heavily scarred from much fighting. Yellowfang panted on the ground behind her, but Foxpaw ignored her, her gazed focused on Yellowfang. She opened her mouth in another eerie howl, her face twisted in hate and anger. The dark brown tabby reeled from shock and horror.

" _Raggedstar!_ " he half-shrieked. " _You're dead!"_

Foxpaw was a cat possessed. Her mouth opened and mud dripped out. She gave a deep hissing groan.

 _Ssssson_.

She reared and swiped at the ShadowClan cat. He sank back on to his haunches to avoid the blow and backed up a pace, his fur spiking up and fangs bared, but his eyes danced with fear. Both cats were equal in size and power but Foxpaw felt like she could rend him limb from limb.

" _I killed you!"_ he screeched.

Shocked yowled sounded throughout the camp. Foxpaw was suddenly aware that the camp was now mostly empty of fighting cats. With a howl, she lunged for Brokenstar and slashed his sides and haunches, scoring muddy marks into his flank and causing blood to soak his fur. With a wail of terror, the leader fled before her, bolting for the camp entrance. She followed, claws extended to rend and tear.

A heartbeat later, a mud-furred, star speckled warrior halted at the entrance, paused and posed, his head turning to look up at Clanrock. Nightpelt was seated at the top, yowling his triumph, but he stopped and looked down. Then his eyes widened with shock.

Raggedstar gave him a solemn nod, before he turned and plunged into the marsh; a StarClan warrior returning to his grave.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, there is so much to talk about here but I'm not going to. The only thing I need to mention is that I've changed Foxpaw's coat to be more normal. She has long fur, black-brown and white, with red underfur. She is still called "fox-colored".  
**

 **I'm going to hopefully have something posted Monday but I might have to post it Friday instead.**

 **Review please! I live on the stuff and I haven't gotten nearly enough for this story. I don't know if you guys are still enjoying it!**


	8. Into the Wild pt 8

**Thanks to Princess Destinyblood for their review!**

* * *

Foxpaw wanted nothing more than to keep running so she could sink her claws into Brokenstar's coat, but the wily tom had disappeared pretty quickly after he'd been chased from the camp. With a snarl of frustration, sending a prayer to StarClan in the hopes Snowkit and the others would forgive her, she broke off her attack and angled towards ThunderClan territory. She clawed up a tree and began navigating through the branches, her momentum carrying her easily over the small thunderpath and into ThunderClan trees.

She kept running until she heard the familiar gurgle of a stream and the excited mew of cats, before she halted, looking down at the mud-covered ThunderClan patrol. Without hesitation, she launched herself into the water and twisted so her head was headed towards the surface and her paws pushed her towards the surface. When she looked around, the patrol had grown quiet and were looking at her with various emotions.

Graypaw was wet and amused, his long fur spiking up from shaking it out. "Watch it!" he meowed, a laugh on his mew.

Runningwind laughed, shaking his fur out again. "That was the best fun I've ever had!" he meowed, stretching his limbs. "I've never run so far in my whole life!"

"If you really want to run far," meowed Foxpaw, amused. "You can make laps around the territory, Runningwind."

The warriors laughed, and Runningwind purred.

"Foxpaw," meowed Whitestorm, his authoritative voice grabbing all of their attention. He looked between the other older warriors and the apprentices. "You did well. You all did. I'm proud to have you as warriors of ThunderClan!"

"Does that mean you'll recommend us to be warriors?" asked Graypaw, in excitement.

"You can't."

Whitestorm looked surprised and everyone looked at Foxpaw, who had finally emerged from the water dripping. She looked Whitestorm in the eye.

"You can't tell the Clan what was done today," meowed Foxpaw. "If you do, you will ruin what StarClan was trying to do."

The white warrior tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Runningwind, glancing at the other warriors for enlightenment.

"Do you even know what has happened here today?" meowed Foxpaw, recalling the startled look on Brokenstar's face. "We impersonated _dead_ ShadowClan cats!"

The patrol looked at each other, a flicker of unease rippling through them.

"Brokenstar thought I was _Raggedstar,_ " continued Foxpaw. "StarClan fought with us today, there is no doubt of _that_. But if ShadowClan knew _we_ were there, imagine what their reaction would be. They'd be furious... and they'd be angry with StarClan over the whole thing. Instead of bringing them closer to their dead ancestors, we would have ripped them further away from them. No Clan cat deserves to be without the light of StarClan to guide them."

Foxpaw saw understanding in their eyes, along with shame. She sighed. "It was never any of our intentions to impersonate StarClan warriors. _We_ were trying to avoid more death and fighting by discouraging other cats from attacking us and their own Clanmates. We were impersonating _ShadowClan_ warriors. There is _no shame_ in that. There is no shame in trying to avoid killing them. StarClan obviously approved of our choice and therefore protected us from Brokenstar and his ilk. We must honor them and keep silent of everything that has happened here."

"Why?" meowed Ravenpaw, looking at her with confusion.

"Because if we tell anyone, ShadowClan will think that we did that on purpose," meowed Foxpaw. "They will think StarClan has abandoned them, just StarClan appeared to abandon them when Brokenstar was given his nine lives."

The ThunderClan warriors absorbed this reasoning solemnly and silently. Whitestorm sighed, ears flat. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Foxpaw looked at the water. "ThunderClan needs to know that Brokenstar's rogues are on the lose in the forest and might return. We will tell them that we saw them run from the camp." She looked at the other warriors. "We will not tell them what we have done, no one except Bluestar." Foxpaw flicked an ear at them. "We will tell them that we turned back out of concern for our Clan's safety."

Whitestorm stared at her for a long moment, gaze thoughtful. Finally, he addressed the others. "She is right. We cannot tell them what happened - at least not the whole truth. We must keep this between us and Bluestar."

"Not if StarClan thought we should have told the Clan about this," meowed Mousefur.

"ShadowClan will tell the other cats on their own time," meowed Foxpaw softly. "If we told them, ShadowClan will not see it as an omen that StarClan disapproved of Brokenstar's leadership and of his rogues."

 _Nor will they see it as them approving of any new leader that comes from this_ , Foxpaw thought, wondering if Nightpelt was going to be the new leader of ShadowClan and if he would receive his nine lives now. Foxpaw suddenly wished she had stayed behind, only briefly, if only so that cats who thought she was Raggedstar would think he approved of Nightstar. She had been so focused on chasing down Brokenstar that it hadn't even occurred to her.

 _I let my emotions make me short-sighted again_ , she thought, feeling bed about it but decided to shrug it off. She couldn't do anything about it now. She would have to kill Brokenstar later, when Tigerclaw convinces him to attack ThunderClan camp.

 _If Tigerclaw convinces him to attack ThunderClan. Right now, he's not looking for revenge._

Foxpaw wondered if she might have to tell Tigerclaw about the whole thing, but knew that Bluestar would probably tell him just because he was the current deputy. If Tigerclaw told Darkstripe, that would throw a wrench into everything.

"We should head back to camp," meowed Whitestorm. "The Clan will be worried about us."

A few minutes later, they padded down the ravine towards the ThunderClan camp and slowly filed out into the clearing. A murmur of excitement rippled through the returning cats, but they seemed to sense that something was wrong. Foxpaw glanced around at the other warriors from the patrol and noticed that most of them had their ears flattened.

Bluestar padded out of her den, took one look at the patrol, and gestured for Whitestorm to join her. "In my den, now."

Bluestar gestured to Tigerclaw and the deputy joined the small group of cats. Foxpaw sighed and padded towards the freshkill pile for a squirrel, her thoughts drifting elsewhere. With Tigerclaw potentially learning of ThunderClan's disguised attack, he's bound to use that to convince Brokenstar that he should attack the camp. Foxpaw imagined sinking her teeth and claws into Brokenstar's neck.

A dark brown, ticked tabby tom padded up beside her, his familiar smell making her look up.

"How did it go?" meowed Dustpelt, his expression twisted into worry. "Was it bad?"

"No," meowed Foxpaw, before sighing loudly. "We never made it to the camp. A group of rogues led by Brokenstar was chased out by a bunch of ShadowClan cats. We thought they were headed this way so we decided to return to base."

Dustpelt was silent for a long moment, putting a tail on her shoulder almost timidly. Foxpaw blinked up at the warrior, who was her physical age if not a moon younger. His amber eyes blinked in sympathy.

"I'm sorry," he meowed. "It's too bad you weren't able to show off your skills," he meowed with an amused twitch of his whiskers.

Foxpaw winced. _That part is true_ , she thought, remembering the fleeing ShadowClan leader. She'd barely done anything. _How can I show off my skills if everyone keeps running away from me. Bluestar will never make me a warrior at this rate!_

"We can share a squirrel," meowed Dustpelt, swiping a paw through the freshkill pile and dragging out a red bush-tail.

Foxpaw lashed her tail, remembering the last squirrel she had tried to eat. It felt like days ago since she had it, but the pale moon-bleached replica of a kitten had looked nothing like a squirrel. She couldn't help but think of Snowkit.

"I wasn't able to avenge him," she meowed, then remembered the ShadowClan kits. Marigoldkit, Mintkit and Mosspaw. "I wasn't able to avenge any of them."

Dustpelt hesitated and lowered his head, looking pained. "Let's eat."

Foxpaw closed her eyes and nodded, knowing that sharing tongues would help to calm her down. _I'll need a level head before I speak with Yellowfang about this._

* * *

When Yellowfang walked into the camp, Foxpaw hesitated to go meet her as she saw Firepaw rush across the clearing towards her. Firepaw gave a rushed and whiskered explanation of what happened, and Foxpaw could see Yellowfang's surprise and understanding. She meowed something to Firepaw, but Firepaw glanced at Foxpaw and said something else in response. Yellowfang glanced at Foxpaw, her expression suddenly becoming guarded. She turned and walked towards the leader's den.

Foxpaw felt suddenly uneasy about what they had talked about. Could it be Firepaw telling Yellowfang about Foxpaw's plan? She couldn't help but wonder why Yellowfang would be guarded about anything.

She wanted to ask Yellowfang about Nightstar's leadership ceremony. She hadn't been away nearly long enough to go to the Moonstone and come back, but Foxpaw knew Runningnose would know eventually and Yellowfang had a half-moon meeting in a few days. She could ask him then.

 _I have to know_ , she thought, feeling a sudden urgency. The Clans would be weakened if Nightstar didn't get his nine lives. She tried to think of a way to make Brokenstar come to her so she could kill him. Then, she could just hop onto a border patrol and tell Nightstar so he could go to the Moonstone to get his nine lives.

 _But with StarClan getting involved_ , she thought, and that could mean they no longer see Brokenstar as ShadowClan's leader and that would make any plan she made against him useless. She didn't pause for a moment to wonder what she would do when she found out that Nightstar received his nine lives. Would she still go after Brokenstar in revenge?

Foxpaw stood up, and suddenly remembered that Dustpelt was right beside her. "I need to tell Yellowfang the news. If Firepaw hasn't told her already."

Dustpelt nodded. "See you later."

The fox-colored apprentice hurried towards the medicine cat den and set down beside it, waiting. When Yellowfang emerged from the leader's den and began padding towards her, Foxpaw rose to her paws and Yellowfang hesitated, her eyes narrowed.

"If you've come to tell me about your little tale, don't bother," meowed Yellowfang with a snort. "Firepaw _and_ Bluestar's already told me."

Foxpaw hesitated and frowned. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about Brokenstar and Nightstar." Foxpaw glanced around so no one else overheard. "If you remember Pinestar, you might not know about Sunstar. When Pinestar left to become a kittypet, Sunstar was only given eight lives when he was made the leader. My concern is that something similar might happen here."

The flat-faced she-cat was surprised but she hid it under annoyance. "And you want to know how a leader gets their nine lives."

"No, I want to know if Brokenstar's remaining lives will affect Nightstar's leadership ceremony and maybe prevent on all together."

Yellowfang looked stunned. Suddenly, her face wrinkled into a snarl and she hissed, "I'm not telling you any of ShadowClan's secrets! Even if I _didn't_ know them."

Foxpaw lashed her tail and grit her teeth. "I could care less about ShadowClan secrets," she hissed back. "My only concern is if StarClan accepts him as leader of ShadowClan despite Brokenstar being alive. You know he didn't step down willingly. Pinestar did."

"StarClan wouldn't dare," she meowed, but stopped herself. Foxpaw opened her mouth and caught a bit of fear scent.

"Yellowfang," meowed Foxpaw. "If ShadowClan falls because StarClan refuses to give Nightstar his nine lives, just because Brokenstar lives, the entire forest will be in danger. I need you to do me a favor. I need to know. I need to know if I should go after Brokenstar and kill him."

Yellowfang looked at Foxpaw with wide eyes. She was silent for so long that Foxpaw thought the old cat had gone into shock.

"You want me to ask Runningnose about the leadership ceremony," Yellowfang meowed at last.

"Yes," meowed Foxpaw. "You know his tells better than I do. If he says it went fine, you'd know if it actually didn't. I want to know if you think it didn't go well because that means Brokenstar being alive has messed it up somehow and I need to kill him."

Yellowfang continued to stare at her. Finally, her voice sounding choked with a growl, she meowed, "Get out."

Foxpaw was stunned. "Yellowfang..." she began, at a loss.

"Get out!" snapped Yellowfang, moving towards the medicine cat den. "I won't help you justify murder."

"He's outside the warrior code, Yellowfang. It's _already_ justified to kill him, according to the warrior code. But I don't want to kill him unnecessarily. I need to know." She hesitated. "Remember what I said when I first joined ThunderClan? Whatever happens to one Clan will eventually affect another. To preserve ThunderClan, ShadowClan must be restored. Don't you care about what happens to ShadowClan?"

"This isn't about ShadowClan or ThunderClan and you and I both know it," meowed Yellowfang.

Foxpaw shook her head. "It's always been about the Clans, Yellowfang. I want to believe that StarClan had some paw in what happened in ShadowClan camp today. If they did, then that means Nightstar will be given his nine lives without complaint. In that case, Brokenstar can live the rest of his life outside of the Clan as far as I'm concerned. I won't have a reason to go after him... despite what he's done to kits. My responsibility is to the Clan I'm in."

Yellowfang stared at her, her eyes narrowed and studying her carefully.

Foxpaw sighed. "Just ask Runningnose. If it turns out that nothing bad happened during Nightstar's leadership ceremony, I promise I will drop this. I won't go after Brokenstar."

A tense silence hung between them. Finally, Yellowfang relented. "I'll ask."

"Thank you," meowed Foxpaw in relief, stepping away from the entrance. She put her tail on Yellowfang's back but Yellowfang leaned away from the touch. Foxpaw sighed. "Whatever he was to you, Yellowfang, Brokenstar is a different cat now. He's a threat. Even you have to realize this. You wouldn't be the first cat to outlive their own flesh and blood."

Yellowfang tensed and looked at Foxpaw with fear. "How did you know?"

"You try too hard to hide it," meowed Foxpaw, becoming quiet. Despite having known long beforehand, Foxpaw's knowledge had only made her more aware of the tells that Yellowfang constantly dropped everywhere. It waseasy to tell a small lie. "Besides, I was the cat you and Brokenstar mistook for Raggedstar. I have a pretty good idea of what he looked like, and if Brokenstar had really been like his father, his snout would have been as long as mine, right? That means he has your face." Well, Yellowfang's face was flat and Brokenstar's wasn't, but she doubted she could actually explain the difference in the Clan cats language. "Raggedstar's father was a kittypet, like mine, wasn't he?"

Yellowfang seemed like her world had fallen apart around her. She didn't confirm or deny it. "And yet... you still want to kill him."

"A cat who kills kittens is no cat at all," meowed Foxpaw. "He's a monster, through and through. I know you still love him and he will always be your kitten, but you need to let him go."

"Are you going to tell Bluestar?" asked Yellowfang.

"Does it matter? You've been punished enough for this. By yourself, by StarClan, by Brokenstar..." Foxpaw lashed her tail. "I am new to the Clans. I have no right to judge you. And, to be honest, I don't think any _living_ cat does."

The ex-ShadowClan cat closed her eyes and nodded.

Foxpaw sighed, wondering if she had made enemies with Yellowfang. "Goodnight, Yellowfang. Remember your promise."

* * *

It was sunhigh the following day when Foxpaw padded out into the clearing. Her mentor and the deputy of ThunderClan was nowhere to be found. She shrugged, not thinking much of it.

 _Well_ , she thought to herself, _if there's one thing I haven't done yet, it's get ticks off elders._

She padded to the medicine cat den only to remember her conversation last night with Yellowfang and decided against it. Instead, she picked up a juicy rabbit off the freshkill pile and took it with her to the elder's den. The smell that hit her made her gag in disgust as she padded into the den. It smelled like a litter box only much worse.

"Is that for us?" meowed a one-eyed cat, her voice rasping. "Is that the cat that fought four badgers?"

"Four foxes," meowed a gray tom with small ears. "Hello, Foxpaw."

Foxpaw dropped the rabbit nearby. "I wasn't sure if you'd been fed today."

"We could always use an extra meal," meowed a black and white tom Foxpaw guessed to be Swiftpaw's father.

Foxpaw flicked her ears guiltily. "Oh, well, I haven't eaten anything if you guys want to share."

Smallear purred. "I think One-eye would have problems with that."

"What?" meowed One-eye, tilting her head at him.

Foxpaw purred. "I'll leave you to it then. I'll make sure the queens have eaten as well."

Smallear nodded. "Thank you, young un."

"Make sure you eat, too," meowed Patchpelt. "Can't have our warriors starving."

Foxpaw purred again. "Thanks."

As she collected two squirrels from the freshkill pile, she paused to look up at the sky. It was long before sunhigh, and she couldn't help but wonder where Tigerclaw was. In fact, where was Ravenpaw.

 _Bluestar could be out training Firepaw,_ she thought, _but if Tigerclaw is out training Ravenpaw, why did Darkstripe not bring me along for training as well? Those two train us together all the time._

An uneasy feeling settled over her pelt and she wondered if Ravenpaw's life was in danger. She carried the squirrels into the nursery.

"Foxpaw?" meowed a familiar voice.

Cinderkit, Brackenkit, and Thornkit were four and a half moons and looked like small adults. If they'd been rogues, they would have started hunting half-a-moon ago. They could more than handle a squirrel. Foxpaw sighed and felt a pang for all the mothers in ShadowClan who lost their kits to Brokenstar's brutality. She dropped the squirrels.

"Hey, kits," she meowed. "How are you doing?"

"We're good!" meowed Cinderkit, and Foxpaw couldn't help but appreciate her spirit. She deserved the name Cinderheart, if she ever became a warrior. Cinderpelt was too generic for her.

"We've been helping feed the elders and queens!" meowed Brackenkit proudly.

Foxpaw purred. "I've noticed. Well done, all of you." She glanced at Thornkit thoughtfully. "Have you eaten yet?"

"We were about to," meowed Brackenkit.

"How about some freshkill?" meowed Foxpaw, looking around. "Unless you've already eaten some prey."

"Are we old enough?" asked Thornkit, looking at his mother, Brindleface, who hesitated.

Foxpaw purred. "I've seen kits eat prey at three moons and they were fine. I myself started eating at three and a half moons and I'm not dead." That was of course a lie, but Foxpaw doubted her research as a human could fail her now. Besides, they _looked_ like they could handle it. "I'm surprised you haven't already started weening."

"We had mouse," meowed Thornkit.

"I can't wait to try squirrel," meowed Cinderkit.

Foxpaw purred. "I just hope I haven't said something mousebrained."

The gray tabby queen purred in response as she watched her kits chow down on one of the squirrels. Foxpaw tore into the second squirrel with relish, licked herself clean and then buried the remains. She glanced around the den and noticed that Goldenflower and Frostfur were missing. Though Mistlekit was present, leaning contentedly against Brindleface's belly.

"Where are Goldenflower and Frostfur?" she asked the queen.

"They went out hunting," meowed the she-cat. "Goldenflower thought it was best if Frostfur took a break from taking care of her kits."

Foxpaw nodded. "Okay," she meowed, unsure if it really was best for Frostfur but she decided to trust Goldenflower's experience. "I should probably keep watch. Tell Goldenflower I said 'hi'!"

Brindleface nodded and Foxpaw padded away. It unnerved her to see the camp so empty, with only a few warriors present. Mousefur and Willowpelt were sharing a squirrel at the other end of the clearing.

 _There's not enough cats here to defend us if ShadowClan attacks!_ thought Foxpaw, unnerved. _I need to talk to Bluestar about her deputy's incompetence._

Foxpaw padded towards the bramble entrance and halted when she heard someone rushing through the forest. She backed up in time to avoid a black blur from knocking her over.

"Bluestar!" meowed Ravenpaw, his eyes wide and heart pounding.

"She's at the Sandy Hollow!" meowed Foxpaw, ready to exit through the bramble entrance only to realize there was a patrol coming. They were rushing, too, and yowling angrily. Suddenly, she understood.

"The dirt place exit," she hissed to Ravenpaw, before blocking the bramble tunnel with her body. She came face-to-face with her mentor.

* * *

 **A/N: Did anyone else get the feeling that Yellowfang might have named Cinderpelt after Raggedpelt? Just me? Okay.**


	9. Into the Wild pt 9

**A/N: Remember to review!  
**

* * *

Darkstripe's patrol came to a stop in the bramble tunnel just after Foxpaw stepped up to the entrance, her fur fluffed out to block their sight. She was surprised to see Dustpelt standing behind Darkstripe and looking angry.

"Darkstripe!" she meowed, trying not to say Dustpelt's name. There was real surprise in her voice. "What are you doing? I thought you were on patrol?"

The black tabby tom blinked at her and seemed to force his fur flat, his voice suddenly calm but edged with fury. "Foxpaw," he meowed, struggling to contain his anger, "move aside. We have to capture the traitor!"

"Traitor?" echoed Foxpaw, glancing again at Dustpelt in surprise. "Do you believe this, Dustpelt?"

The dark brown tom opened his mouth and glanced away, doubt on his face. "I do not want to believe that Ravenpaw would be capable of it, but he is suspicious-"

Darkstripe cut him off with a wave of his tail. "We can't just stand around here talking. Ravenpaw is in the camp!"

Foxpaw tilted her head in confusion at Dustpelt, but addressed Darkstripe. "Are you guys going to stay and protect the camp?" she meowed.

"Someone has to," meowed Longtail with a furious hiss and sharp look at Foxpaw. "Especially from that no-good traitor!"

Foxpaw hesitated before stepping away from the entrance, knowing that Ravenpaw would be long gone by now. She gestured to Dustpelt to wait behind for her.

"Why do you believe that your brother is a traitor?" meowed Foxpaw.

"We saw him on the ShadowClan border," meowed Dustpelt, "and someone had to have told Clawface about Speckletail taking the kits behind the nursery to play."

"Speckletail took the kits out back?" asked Foxpaw, glancing towards the nursery.

"Yeah, except before she'd take them out the bramble tunnel," meowed Dustpelt with a shrug.

"How would Ravenpaw know they went out the bramble tunnel? He was sleeping next to me the entire time in the apprentice's den. He couldn't have even seen them leave let alone have slipped out in time to tell ShadowClan before Clawface attacked." Foxpaw licked a paw and swiped it over her ears. She couldn't help the annoyance in her voice from her turning her expression hard and voice angry. "Everyone in the apprentice's den knows that Tigerclaw hates his apprentice. Ravenpaw is just too nervous and weak, and it reflects badly on him. It's no surprise to me that he'd want to get rid of him."

Dustpelt looked so surprised that Foxpaw almost felt bad about what she had said. Then Dustpelt looked angry.

"You don't know Tigerclaw at all!" meowed Dustpelt. "Every cat knows that Firepaw and Ravenpaw don't like him. Maybe Ravenpaw is failing on purpose!"

"You'd rather question the honor of your own brother than someone like Tigerclaw?" meowed Foxpaw with a sneer. "You really are a proud warrior of ThunderClan! _Mousebrain_!"

Foxpaw stormed out of the camp and up the slope to the top of the ravine, ignoring the dark brown warrior when he called after her. She slipped into the undergrowth and let out a sigh when she realized he hadn't followed. A cat shifting around in the undergrowth made her look around, until her gaze landed on four white paws under the bushes nearby. Foxpaw stood up and gestured with her tail for him to follow and made her way towards the Sandy Hollow.

"Why did you stop?" she finally asked when they were far enough from the camp for no one to notice. "You should have kept going."

Ravenpaw shifted uneasily on his paws and glanced back at the camp. "I wasn't sure they wouldn't follow."

Foxpaw shrugged. "Darkstripe is..." she began, "well, he believes you are a traitor." She watched him shudder and put a tail on his shoulder in comfort. "Relax, they have literally no evidence. Did you find the tunnel?"

Ravenpaw brightened. "Yeah! It's straight north of the Sandy Hollow and really close to Fourtrees. You can't miss it."

Foxpaw grinned. "Really? Maybe you can show me it when we've got the time."

Ravenpaw looked very much like he wanted to do that. Before he could say anything, however, they padded into the Sandy Hollow, only to discover that Firepaw and Bluestar were not there.

Foxpaw felt her heart plummet into her paws as her mind raced. She had no idea where they had gone or where they were. "Oh, no," she breathed.

"Where are they?" asked Ravenpaw, eyes wide in panic. "We have to find them! If we don't find them, then Darkstripe will kill me! Maybe they just went around to the other side..."

Foxpaw glanced around the Sandy Hollow. It would take them hours to search for Bluestar and Firepaw and they didn't have hours. She rushed to Ravenpaw's side as he started to pad around the Sandy Hollow, and she put her tail on his shoulder to help calm him. It wasn't working.

"Ravenpaw," she meowed, urgently at the panicking apprentice. "Ravenpaw!"

He looked at her with wide, terrified eyes. Foxpaw could see his legs shaking under him.

"Calm down," she meowed sternly. "We can't think of a plan when we are all panicking and, if you don't stop then I'm going to start."

That at least seem to get his attention and he sat down, waiting nervously for her to think. Foxpaw tried to remember an alternative training place which Bluestar might have taken Firepaw but her mind was coming up blank. She looked up at the trees thoughtfully.

"Ravenpaw, where do you go to practice climbing trees?" she asked.

"The Great Sycamore!" meowed Ravenpaw, looking relieved. "Let's go!"

Ravenpaw bolted into the forest, nervousness and relief suddenly giving him energy. Foxpaw had trouble keeping up with him, and came to a halt, almost tripping over a crouching Ravenpaw. Runningwind blinked at her confusedly.

"Hey, Foxpaw," he meowed, glancing at Ravenpaw with a whisker-twitch of amusement. "Where's the fire?"

Foxpaw looked around at his patrol; Sandstorm and Whitestorm. A sudden feeling of unease filled. "Isn't Brightpaw and Swiftpaw with you?" she asked.

"No," meowed Runningwind with a frown. "We thought it would be best if they and Graypaw stayed behind to protect the camp."

"They aren't in camp," meowed Foxpaw, glancing at Ravenpaw. "In fact, when I woke up this morning, all three of them were gone and so was Frostfur and Goldenflower. We only had me, Willowpelt and Mousefur to protect the camp. Darkstripe's patrol returned so I could leave and look for Bluestar."

Runningwind looked shocked.

"Really?" meowed Whitestorm, alarmed.

"We have to find them!" meowed Sandstorm, looking ready to bolt.

"Wait!" meowed Foxpaw, but Runningwind and Sandstorm were already gone.

Whitestorm looked at Foxpaw, brows furrowed in worry. "What is it?"

"I've been looking for Bluestar and Firepaw but I couldn't find them at the Sandy Hollow."

Whitestorm looked thoughtful. "I think Bluestar and Firepaw went hunting south of the Sandy Hollow."

 _Hunting? Really?_ Foxpaw glanced at Ravenpaw. "Okay, thanks."

With a nod and a confused glance at Ravenpaw, Whitestorm padded back to the camp.

Ravenpaw was shaking. "We won't be able to find them now!" He looked helpless.

Foxpaw shook her head and looked upwards to the tree tops. "We don't need to find them. They'll come to us." Her claws scraped the ground thoughtfully. "How good is your climbing skills?"

Ravenpaw glanced nervously up at the tree. "Uhm, below average?"

Foxpaw looked at her five-clawed paw and glanced up at the tree. "Well, let's practice."

The plan was simple. Since they knew from which direction Bluestar would return from, they could sit and wait in a tree until she came towards the camp. Ravenpaw was perched nervously on a branch, struggling to keep his balance and looking like he was about to fall. Foxpaw wondered if he had any practice at all. She felt like a bird in her nest, looking down on the world like a SkyClan cat. When the sun had risen and fallen passed it's zenith, Foxpaw saw a flash of red in the bushes and knew that Firepaw and Bluestar were coming. Without hesitation, she clawed down the tree trunk and landed neatly on the ground. A nervous pile of fur landed less gracefully beside her, trembling.

"Bluestar?" she meowed, padding forward towards where she had seen the flash of red fur.

A sudden, ugly scent suddenly filled her nostrils and she halted, bristling at the familiar stench. Ravenpaw squeaked with fright.

A vulpine figure emerged from the undergrowth, yellow eyes flashing wildly and ginger fur turned into fire in the sunlight. It's fur was matted and ragged, thick and in clumps. Foxpaw stared at her namesake in shock. The fox's lips curled into a snarl.

"Run, Foxpaw!" meowed Ravenpaw.

The dogfox snapped forward, but Foxpaw snapped her head back before his teeth could clatter against her skull.

"Run, Ravenpaw!" meowed Foxpaw, sudden fire filling her veins. "I've got this!"

 _Famous last words_ , muttered a voice in her head. Without hesitation, Foxpaw slashed at the dogfox's muzzle, feeling her claws tug at thick skin and tear. With an angry yelp, the dogfox jerked its head back, sneered and then charged, bowling her over. It's teeth snapped for her neck. She twisted and writhed underneath it, clawing its neck and chest with her forepaws. Her claws dug into the tough skin and she jerked her legs around to unbalance the dogfox and make its snapping jaws go wild of their target. It switched from attacking her neck to trying to twist out of her grip, delivering painful bites to her forearms. Its paws hammered down on her stomach and she wheezed, unable to shriek. She could barely breathe.

A black tom slammed into the dogfox's side and bounced off. The big dogfox barely staggered, but a paw in her chest was suddenly elsewhere, allowing Foxpaw to take a breath. Her mind whirled.

 _Stop fighting like a human and start fighting like a cat!_ she thought.

Suddenly remembering her hindlegs, she unsheathed her claws and slammed them into its stomach as hard as she could. The dogfox wheezed, stunned. The black blurr slammed into its side again, this time knocking him off. Foxpaw sucked in a deep breath of air. Relieved, she twisted back onto her paws and turned, hissing and arching her spine, her fur fluffed up to make her look twice as big. She let out the biggest scream she could manage, half-yowling half-screaming. The dogfox forgot about Ravenpaw instantly, turning to meet the much bigger and louder threat.

Foxpaw surged forward and leaped into its side, sinking her teeth into its shoulder. The dogfox yelped and twisted around, ripping itself free of Foxpaw's teeth. Foxpaw felt blood drip from her mouth as she reeled back and slashed at its face. They snapped at each other, unable to land a hit on each other. Foxpaw felt her fur burn with fury and frustration the more they danced. A black blur barrelled into the dogfox's side and it suddenly twisted around towards the apprentice, who was ducking away. Foxpaw slashed at its chest and snapped her jaws forward, finding a muzzle in her mouth. She clamped down hard, earning a yelp and its head attempting to jerk away, but she held fast. It seemed to realize that it couldn't do anything in her grip and it finally whimpered.

She released it and pushed it away, and it immediately staggered away, with Ravenpaw yowling after it. Two more yowls echoed his own and Foxpaw watched as a blue-gray she-cat and a fiery red tom suddenly appeared from the undergrowth and chased after it. Foxpaw took a few steps forward to follow but stopped, her forearms twitching painfully. She had cuts and scratches all over her body from where the dogfox's claws her pinned her and his teeth and almost connected. Her head rang with how many times they had almost snapped each other's faces off. She gave a sharp noise and collapsed, a shudder rippling through her body.

After a while of laying down, she saw three cats appear out of the undergrowth and quickly approach.

"Foxpaw!" meowed Ravenpaw. "Are you alright?"

Foxpaw couldn't help the grin which spread across her face. Her heart was still pounding and she couldn't help but feel elated. "Just finished a good bit of roughhousing with my friend, The Fox. How about you?"

Ravenpaw looked confused but smiled back anyway. "I'm doing great!" he meowed, his chest heaving and eyes flashing with excitement. "I can't believe we survived! You were amazing! I've never seen some cat handle a fox like that all on their own before!"

"You helped," Foxpaw reminded him with a purr, looking at Bluestar. "If he hadn't distracted that fox, I wouldn't be alive right now."

"You are both lucky to be alive," meowed Bluestar, but Foxpaw saw just how pleased the leader was with her. Foxpaw couldn't help the purr that escaped her. Bluestar continued, "Foxpaw, can you stand up?"

Foxpaw winced. "I think so." She forced herself to her shaky paws, quivering. Ravenpaw and Firepaw both stepped up beside her and pressed into her side.

"You should have seen her, Firepaw," meowed Ravenpaw, his eyes flashing in excitement. "She was amazing."

Firepaw flicked his ears, his eyes wide in amazement. "It must have been amazing," he meowed, looking at Foxpaw. "How did you do it?"

Foxpaw grinned and winked at him. "I'll tell you later, Firepaw. It was a trick and a half not to die."

As the excitement bled out of her, leaving her exhausted and aching all over, Foxpaw suddenly wondered why the fox had attacked her. It had looked half-mad, covered in recent claw marks from a previous fight. Where had it come from? Foxpaw glanced back at the forest, but there was no sign of any cat. A cold shiver scurried up her spine and she looked away.

When they were within sight of the ravine, they watched in surprise as Mousefur and Willowpelt suddenly exploded up the side of the ravine and darted towards the twolegplace border. Without preamble, Bluestar raced ahead and yowled, demanding to know what was going on. The three apprentices padded forward just in time to hear the explanation from Whitestorm.

"Graypaw, Brightpaw and Swiftpaw went to patrol the border. _Alone_."

Foxpaw saw Ravenpaw glance at her from the corner of his eye, but Foxpaw didn't look at him. Her mind raced with what she had told Whitestorm before.

"Did Tigerclaw send them there?" meowed Foxpaw, confused. This didn't sound like his doing.

Whitestorm shook his head and flicked his tail towards the dirtplace. "As far as we can tell, they went out the back."

"Where _is_ Tigerclaw?" meowed Sandstorm, flicking her tail at Ravenpaw. "His apprentice is right there!"

Foxpaw said nothing and neither did the two apprentices.

"Speaking of his apprentice," began Darkstripe, looking angrily at Ravenpaw. "What were you doing near the ShadowClan border? Alone, I might add." He added that last statement with a glance at Whitestorm.

Bluestar grew thoughtful. "They were supposed to be hunting together." She looked at Ravenpaw.

"Seems to me that Tigerclaw can't keep track of his apprentice," meowed Sandstorm.

Foxpaw blinked and looked at Bluestar. "I think," she meowed, her voice soft with exhaustion. "That Ravenpaw has an interesting story to tell you, Bluestar. That was part of the reason I came to fetch you."

"Fetch me?" echoed Bluestar.

"Fetch her?" echoed Firepaw, glancing over their collective shoulder like he expected Tigerclaw to suddenly appear and bear down on them from above.

"Yes," meowed Foxpaw with an amused glance at Firepaw. "When I first woke up, there were only two warriors in the camp. However, I see now that is because Graypaw and the other apprentices snuck out and is no fault of Tigerclaw's. However, Ravenpaw was found alone near the ShadowClan border and that _is_ Tigerclaw's responsibility. However, Ravenpaw has a good reason for traveling a bit too far from Tigerclaw. He found something that might interest you."

Bluestar looked expectantly at Ravenpaw who shifted nervously under all their gazes. "Well, Ravenpaw?"

Foxpaw put her tail on his shoulder in support. He blinked gratefully at her and began. He explained that he and Tigerclaw had gone to the ShadowClan border to hunt. He traveled a bit too far away from where he told him to hunt - he neglected to mention where Tigerclaw told him to hunt - and told them about the tunnel he had found along the border.

"The prey was poor," he added, "and I was so excited at my discovery that I decided to tell you right away, Bluestar. Then, Darkstripe saw me and I... _panicked_."

"To be fair," meowed Foxpaw, feeling grateful to Ravenpaw for not mentioning that she had told him about the tunnel in the first place. "It probably _did_ look suspicious."

Bluestar looked at Darkstripe. "Do you want to explain yourself?"

Darkstripe hesitated and then shifted on his paws. "Tigerclaw told me that he thought Ravenpaw might be too interested in ShadowClan..." he trailed off, confused.

"Why would Tigerclaw," meowed Firepaw, a flash of excitement in his eyes, "think his own apprentice was interested in ShadowClan? Because of Brokenstar?"

Foxpaw suddenly felt anxious. She knew that Firepaw wanted to have Tigerclaw exposed, but if he left then that would mean Brokenstar might not attack the camp. After all, the only reason Tigerclaw wanted to attack the camp was so he could kill Bluestar and become leader. If Brokenstar didn't attack the camp then Foxpaw wouldn't be able to kill him.

 _Of course, it might not matter if Nightstar has all his nine lives,_ she thought, but she still felt uneasy. She glanced up at the sky and realized that the start of dusk had finally fallen over the camp.

"We will wait for Tigerclaw to get back before we question him about what has happened," meowed Bluestar. "Before that, however, I would like to make an announcement."

Since most of the Clan was already gathered, Bluestar decided not to climb up to Highrock. She looked out over the Clan, her blue eyes calm. "When I was returning from my hunting mission with Firepaw, we helped Ravenpaw to chase of a fox. He told us that Foxpaw dealt with this fox single-pawed. I am more than impressed with our oldest apprentice and I have decided that it is time she made the final steps in her training. In a few days, I will travel to the Moonstone with her, Ravenpaw and Darkstripe."

A ripple of surprise went through the gathered cats. Foxpaw noticed that most of them - at least those that went on the ShadowClan patrol - looked at her with respect and admiration. In their minds, she had deserved it. The others, who had yet to hear how she handled the fox, were between nervousness and admiration for her. They were thinking that she had only been an apprentice for half a moon and that was not long enough. Foxpaw couldn't help but agree.

"Let's take you to the medicine cat den," meowed Firepaw, admiration in his eyes and a bit of jealousy.

Foxpaw nodded, wondering how the fox got on to the territory. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Yellowfang. Foxpaw waited outside of the medicine cat den so that Firepaw could fetch her.

When the old gray cat look at her, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You smell like foxdung, foxface." She gestured to the prisoner's den with a dismissive wave of her tail. "Sit her over there. The little furbrain ' _can't breathe_ ' in my den."

Foxpaw couldn't help the purr from erupting from her chest. She settled down in her old nest with a sigh and lifted her head when Yellowfang entered.

"How do you feel?" she meowed, eyes flickering over her pelt and a sneer on her face. "It doesn't look like anything serious."

"I just feel stiff," meowed Foxpaw, rolling onto her back. "I have a few scratches on my chest and stomach from when it stepped on me. Might have a broken rib."

Yellowfang sniffed her white fur and licked a few spots thoughtfully. "They're small enough to heal on their own. I'll get you come comfrey root."

Foxpaw meowed a thanks and shifted in her nest, settling down to rest. Yowls across the clearing made her lift her head and look out. She could hear the anger and concern in her Clanmates' mew. After a few seconds, she saw why.

Tigerclaw looked like he'd tackled a badger. He was bleeding from a wound on his shoulder, and looked like he was trying his hardest not to faint. Beside him, Goldenflower struggled to prop him up and Frostfur walked on the other side, freshkill dangling from her jaws and her brow knitted in worry. Foxpaw lowed her head thoughtfully and waited, her own brow knitted in worry.

Tigerclaw staggered up to the medicine cat's den just as Yellowfang walked out with the comfrey root. She and Goldenflower spoke to each other before Goldenflower reluctantly picked up the comfrey root and padded towards the prisoner's den. She dropped it near Foxpaw.

"She said to chew it up into a poultice," she meowed, before padding away.

Foxpaw took the comfrey root and began chewing, before lick it all over her legs and shoulders. The juices soaked into her fur and skin, and she felt better almost right away. When she finished and looked up, Tigerclaw had been moved into the medicine cat den and Goldenflower was returning to the nursery, looking like a kicked puppy. Foxpaw sneezed and sniffed, feeling her nose beginning to clog. She turned away from the camp and curled up to sleep, wondering what Tigerclaw had done to cause his injuries. She wasn't familiar enough with wounds to guess but the image of the fox danced in her head.

Who had attacked it and what was it doing on ThunderClan territory? Did Tigerclaw have anything to do with it?

* * *

 **A/N: Review, please! (Did I really have to ask twice in one chapter? I feel like I did.)  
**


	10. Into the Wild pt 10

**A/N: Omg, four reviews for one chapter? I feel so special you guys. Omg, thank you!  
**

 **Thank you, Shaftem for your review! I'm afraid that most of the romances won't actually start until after Foxpaw and the others are made into warriors... Dustpelt certainly does have a crush on Foxpaw, though. Or, at the very least, respects her because of her potential for being a good warrior. ;P**

 **Thank you, lemon for your review! Gosh, it's so nice to see some feedback. ^^; As for Dustpelt... omg, no, why am I so silly? I was reading the Gathering section in the first book there and it must have translated into my writing. It has now been fixed, I hope, if I didn't accidentally call him by his apprentice name for an entire chapter again. *facepalm***

 **Thank you, Vinejay for you lovely review! I'm so glad you like it though I hope you don't object to future omens and prophecies. Or, at least, I hope that squirrel/kit omen was fine for you. Something similiar might happen again. ;P  
**

 **And thank you, Random Person. Here you go! ;P** **I am trying to keep up a regular updating schedule on Mondays or Fridays.**

* * *

It took more than a few days for Foxpaw to heal completely from the fox attack. Where her injuries had disappeared, white scar-fur had replaced it. Her white underbelly, paws, chin and throat covered up most of the scar fur, but the there was a white patch of fur on her shoulder from the first fox attack. Foxpaw wondered if it was a sign that StarClan was with her, but her thoughts had gone to another cat with lots of white on their shoulders. Had something happened to Thistleclaw to make his shoulder fur scarred so heavily? Could it have helped influence him into becoming as fearless and bloodthirsty as he did? Foxpaw shook herself mentally and reminded herself that she wasn't a twoleg anymore and that trying to think of headcanons would only cloud the facts of the reality around her.

It was late at night or early in the morning when Foxpaw felt the presence of an unexpected visitor moving into the prisoner's den and settling beside her. She looked up at yellow eyes and dark fur and squeaked in shock.

"Darkstripe," she meowed, suddenly frightened as memories of fandom rumors danced in her head.

"Do I look like that furball to you?" rasped Yellowfang, narrowing her eyes in annoyance. "Your mentor's not going to bother you unless _I_ say so."

At Yellowfang's harsh mew, Foxpaw couldn't help but breath a soft sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you," she said, glancing up at the sky and noting the moon. "It's passed halfmoon. You got back from the medicine cat meeting?"

"Yes, I did," meowed Yellowfang, with a twitch of her whiskers. "Glad you aren't as stupid as you are blind."

Foxpaw couldn't help but purr and roll her eyes. "What did you want to tell me, Yellowfang?"

"Nightstar's ceremony went well," meowed Yellowfang, "as I thought it would." She studied Foxpaw thoughtfully. "You know... I did forget to mention something last time. One of the cats that attacked ShadowClan's camp looked exactly like Raggedstar." Foxpaw blinking in recognition but was silent. "He stayed behind and gave his approval to the Clan to make Nightstar the new leader."

Shocked, Foxpaw shot up to her paws. Her thoughts danced with an image of herself, staying behind to give the nod of approval, but that was impossible; she had been the last out of the camp, sure, but she had chased Brokenstar for a good stretch into the swamp before he disappeared. An uncomfortable sensation swept through her and she wondered if StarClan had hijacked her body in the time it had taken her to lose Brokenstar... but that didn't make any sense either. When she had lost Brokenstar, she was too far away from camp to make a quick return, give a little nod, and then return back where she had started, chasing after Brokenstar. She shook her head vigorously. "That's impossible! None of us stayed behind!"

"Keep your voice down!" hissed Yellowfang, with a sharp look over her shoulder at the empty camp. "I may have given Tigerclaw enough poppy seeds to down a wolf but that doesn't mean the rest of the Clan isn't listening." Yellowfang stared at her with flinty eyes.

"Sorry," Foxpaw meowed, lowering her voice. Foxpaw felt like she had no idea what was going on anymore and her mind could only jump to the Butterfly Effect. "How did this happen?" she murmured to herself.

The medicine cat stared at her, like she was as dumb as a fish. "Obviously, StarClan made it into a real sign."

Foxpaw nodded slowly, remembering Jayfeather's own sign for ShadowClan. She licked her paw and swiped it over her face to give herself a moment to think. "Okay," she meowed at last. Her mind raced. "But... are you saying that there were actual StarClan warriors there? _Fighting_ alongside us?"

"There was no 'fighting alongside'," meowed Yellowfang, her voice lowering. "You all looked the part from nose to tail-tip."

Foxpaw stared at her, stunned. StarClan had hijacked her battle plan and used it to a deliver a message to ShadowClan, a message which resulted in Nightstar getting all nine of his lives. Foxpaw felt a flicker of hope, wondering if she was already making a difference where it mattered most. Then she felt a wave of uncertainty. StarClan had only hijacked Jayfeather's sign in the books because, for one, he was a member of some grand prophecy and, two, he was a medicine cat. Did this mean that Foxpaw was a part of some prophecy, with powers to boot? Foxpaw hoped she wasn't going to end up accidentally shooting lasers out of her eyes or having an infinite number of lives simply because StarClan wanted her to be powerful. It seemed ridiculous. Then again, could this mean that Foxpaw was supposed to be a medicine cat? She really didn't want to end up stuck in a medicine den with a permanent running nose.

"StarClan is watching over ShadowClan," she meowed at last, unsure of what to say but relieved that StarClan was doing that for her favorite Clan.

"You have such faith in our warrior ancestors," meowed Yellowfang, a knowing look on her face. "For a rogue."

The fox-colored she-cat stiffened, eyes darting around wildly as her brain came to a screeching halt. "I- I don't know what you mean."

Yellowfang gave a snort. "Yes, you do. You know exactly what I mean. You know more about the Clans than you let on, especially with all those questions about apprentices and warriors and medicine cats. Did you really think I was so mousebrained?"

Stung, Foxpaw flattened her ears and shook her head. "No, I didn't," she meowed, quietly. "I thought _everyone else_ was mousebrained enough to buy it."

Yellowfang gave a loud snort, but whether it was in agreement or not, Foxpaw couldn't tell.

Foxpaw lifted her head and looked Yellowfang in the eye. "If you think I'm a spy, then you're wrong. I'm not here to spy for anyone."

"I don't doubt it," said Yellowfang at last. "You don't look like any Clan cat I've ever seen. More like..." And here the medicine cat paused, unsure of what to say, and finally just huffed in annoyance. "I would bet that one or more of your ancestors originated from the Clans. There were a lot of cats who disappeared during Brokenstar's reign..."

Foxpaw blinked thoughtfully at Yellowfang and finally nodded acceptance of her theory. "You're half right," she meowed. "I heard about the Clans from my parents." Her mind raced to remember the story she had told Bluestar when she had first joined the Clan. "It's why we stayed together for so long. Because they believed in the warrior code and Clan life so much, they tried to relive it. They would talk about their ancestry in SkyClan all the time."

"I've never heard of SkyClan," meowed Yellowfang, more thoughtful than Foxpaw expected.

"I'm not surprised," meowed Foxpaw, trying to think of things from her twoleg life she could now claim were from her parents. "I memorized the warrior code when I was young, but I always thought I was missing bits and pieces. I would dream of becoming a warrior, fighting battles and hunting prey. And now..." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm almost there."

The ragged she-cat had relaxed somewhat. "That explains it. StarClan brought you to us and have shown their approval by sending that sign." She paused. "I will tell the Clan about your Clanblood tomorrow."

A prickle of uncertainty filled Foxpaw from nose to tail-tip, thoughts of someone finding out the truth dancing in her head. "You will?"

"Don't make me change my mind," Yellowfang snapped. "There probably isn't enough Clanblood in you to mean anything."

Despite her concerns, Foxpaw couldn't help but purr at Yellowfang. Then her thoughts turned to Firepaw. "You could say the same about Firepaw," she meowed. "His grandfather was once leader of a Clan."

Yellowfang blinked at her. "Oh?"

Foxpaw nodded, excitement pulsing through her paws and heart as a plan came together. "Firepaw's mother was a cat named Nutmeg," she meowed. "Nutmeg's father was a cat named Pine. He came from the forest, but became a kittypet."

Yellowfang's eyes widened. "Pine," she meowed flatly, obviously recognizing the name.

Foxpaw couldn't help feeling excited. "Yes," she said, her mind racing to fabricate the lie, "Nutmeg took a tom named Jake for a mate and had a small litter. I saw them when I was apprentice age. Jake looked exactly like his son. He had a warrior's spirit, always traveling everywhere. He said he once had a friend who was a WindClan tom." At this, Foxpaw shut up, realizing she had probably given away too much information. _It confirms the story,_ she thought, feeling uncomfortable lying to Yellowfang, _and that's all that matters right now._

The ex-ShadowClan cat twitched an ear thoughtfully before finally meowing, "I'll tell Bluestar."

Foxpaw felt relieved. She reasoned that this would help Firepaw in the future and, if he should ever try to bring Cloudkit into the Clan, the Clan would be more accepting of the kit since they'd know he had Clanblood in him. This had the potential to solve a lot of problems. "Thank you," she meowed, with a purr.

* * *

At sunrise, Foxpaw couldn't help but shift restlessly in her old nest. During her time recovering, Goldenflower or Ravenpaw would pay her a visit to give her a piece of freshkill and make sure she was comfortable. She hadn't heard anything from Firepaw, though she had seen him around camp - occasionally accompanied by Graypaw - enough to know he was trying to stick to the plan. Ravenpaw would be safe in his company while they waited for him and Foxpaw to be taken to the Moonstone. Foxpaw couldn't help but wonder who would be going with Firepaw and Graypaw when they are taken to the Moonstone. It could not be Tigerclaw because he was the deputy.

Foxpaw had been an apprentice for a three quarters of a moon now, and the Gathering was only a quarter moon away. Foxpaw wondered what she was going to do at that Gathering and wondered who would be going to fetch WindClan after it. Surely it couldn't be Firepaw and Graypaw, neither of whom were ready to become warriors. But if she went herself, it would be two moons before she returned and that could prevent her from getting an apprentice, thus becoming eligible for deputyship.

 _Maybe I can convince Bluestar to send Ravenpaw,_ she thought, thinking that would be best, if Bluestar didn't think that sending two apprentices along with him was a terrible idea. Foxpaw couldn't help a sneer of contempt at the thought of Bluestar. _Kit-killer_ , she thought, remembering Mosskit.

She couldn't pretend that she didn't want to become deputy; she wanted that position more than anything for a variety of reasons. She didn't care about the leadership position so much because she knew that position was reserved for Firepaw by StarClan. But if Foxpaw could become eligible for deputyship, then she would feel a lot better about kicking Tigerclaw out of the Clan as soon as possible. Heck, she'd even feel better about killing him. That way, Whitestorm wouldn't become deputy after Tigerclaw and have StarClan drop a tree on him the moment Firepaw became eligible for the role. Instead, Foxpaw could become deputy and simply get pregnant so she could step down and have Firepaw fill that role.

That was best plan she could come up with. The only problem in her grand plan was Graypaw. The tom deserved to live in RiverClan with his kits and Foxpaw itched to kick him out the moment she uncovered his relationship with Silverstream. A traitor like that should never have become deputy of ThunderClan, especially since he never really trained an apprentice. Brackenkit and Cinderkit had both been trained by Firepaw.

Foxpaw shuddered at the thought of having kits, images of dead kits or dead queens flashing through her mind. It was not an experience she was looking forward to and something she actively wanted to avoid. If Whitestorm became deputy after Tigerclaw was either killed or kicked out, then Foxpaw would not have to seek the deputy position and simply focus on being the best warrior she could be. Maybe Brackenfur or Thornclaw could become deputy after Whitestorm died and Firepaw became leader of ThunderClan. Foxpaw couldn't stomach the idea of being responsible for Whitestorm's death... or him becoming leader, if StarClan didn't have the good sense to kill him. Whitestorm might be wise and serious when need be, but he chased she-cat tails whenever he wasn't on duty. No, she couldn't leave that to chance. She had to become deputy.

So, she had to stop yelling at the warriors. No one would respect a cat who yelled at them whenever they did something wrong or stupid. Foxpaw didn't know how she could stop her mouth from running away with her, but if it was the only way to become deputy and ensure that Firepaw became leader, then Foxpaw would do it.

The sun had risen and reached it's zenith when Foxpaw stirred again. She licked her paws thoughtfully, wondering if she might be able to snag a piece of prey from the freshkill today or wait for Ravenpaw or Goldenflower to get one for her. The two of them seemed to sense when she hadn't eaten or when the other hadn't fetched her a piece of prey.

Ravenpaw appeared at the bramble tunnel and gave a quick, nervous glance around the camp before darting across to the freshkill pile, dropping everything except a squirrel, and raced up to the prisoner's den. Neither spoke until he had settled down beside her, pressing into her flank as if he could somehow merge with her black-brown and red fur.

"Tigerclaw?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the bramble entrance. The deputy had been released from the medicine den a day earlier on account of his wounds being mostly superficial. Foxpaw's muscles still ached after she pulled a few from fighting the fox.

The massive tabby tom emerged from the entrance a few seconds later, looking annoyed but trying to be stoic, and Firepaw emerged behind him, looking around as if he could find Ravenpaw through sight alone.

Foxpaw yowled, "Hey, Firepaw!"

The smaller ginger tom looked up at the prisoner den and quickly padded over to the freshkill pile before joining her. He carried a mouse in his jaws and settled down beside her.

"That is not going to fed you," meowed Foxpaw, voice low. "It's a waste of prey. If the Clan focused on hunting squirrels and rabbits for a whole moon, then maybe the whole forest would have enough mice to feed the queens."

Firepaw flicked an ear at her. "I like the taste of mouse," he meowed softly.

Foxpaw blinked. "It's still an inefficient way to hunt. It takes at least four fully grown mice to feed a cat and the Clan barely manages to catch ten of them in one day! Everyone needs to prepare for the coming leaf-bare and tiny morsels like that aren't going to cut it."

"Leaf-bare is six moons away," Firepaw pointed out.

"Yes, but it's three moons of little to no prey," Foxpaw meowed. "The best catch we can manage is three or four rabbits every quarter moon and they aren't fully grown either. One of them only feeds three cats."

"If they were any bigger," meowed Firepaw, with a smirk, "we wouldn't be able to carry them back to camp without help."

Foxpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement. "True," she meowed, her gaze flickering over to Tigerclaw. "How was the hunting patrol?"

Firepaw looked up. "Ravenpaw did well. He caught four pieces prey."

"Dustpaw and Sandpaw caught eight each," meowed Foxpaw. "You're going to have to do better to catch up to them."

Ravenpaw perked up, suddenly distraught. "Is Bluestar going to delay my apprentice ceremony again?"

"Neither of them fought a fox," meowed Foxpaw quickly. "So, you've already impressed her with your battle training. I think they'll let this slide."

Ravenpaw looked somewhat relieved, glancing at Firepaw for confirmation.

"I agree with Foxpaw," Firepaw meowed reassuringly.

Foxpaw sighed. "I wish there was something we could do about Tigerclaw."

"Me, too," meowed Firepaw. "I don't like the way he looks at Ravenpaw during training. I always feel like he's going to attack him."

Ravenpaw ducked his head and hid in Foxpaw's fur. Foxpaw felt a shiver go down her spine.

"I hope Bluestar makes us all warriors before that happens," meowed Firepaw. "Tigerclaw knows his chance of killing Ravenpaw quietly is slipping the closer we get to our apprentice ceremony."

"Surely he wouldn't," meowed Ravenpaw. "I mean, it would ruin his reputation, right?" He looked between Foxpaw and Firepaw, looking for comfort.

Sometimes, Foxpaw wished that Ravenpaw would find somewhere else to hide. Feeling like she had capitalized on an idea, she looked at Firepaw. "We need a safe spot for him to hide that no one would think to look and that is close enough to the camp that we can just call to him," meowed Foxpaw. "Somewhere behind the dirtplace."

"Like build a den there?" meowed Firepaw.

"Exactly," meowed Foxpaw with a grin. "Great minds think alike, huh?"

" _I_ thought of it," meowed Firepaw, a purr in his throat.

"Oh shush, no one likes a gloryhound," meowed Foxpaw, lips still curled in amusement. "I'll check it out first and tell you guys what I think as a prime spot for Ravenpaw's new den."

She stretched languidly and padded away, glancing around for Tigerclaw. The deputy was busy speaking to Darkstripe, and she quickly darted into the dirtplace. It smelled and the land was freshly turned, but there were enough bushes for any number of places to hide, either to make dirt to put a den. She padded to the back, behind many thick bushes and found herself near the sheer cliff which lined the back of the camp. She looked around for a suitable place to build a den, clawing at the earth every few tail lengths to test the dirt and pushing aside bushes for invisible entrances to dens. Foxpaw found a suitable place to build a secret den, but it was too far away from the camp. With a sigh, she abandoned her searching and returned to the prisoner's den.

"I couldn't find any good spots," she meowed, curling up on the ground next to Firepaw. Ravenpaw had practically taken over her nest when scooting up closer to Firepaw. "But there's room for improvement."

"That's good to hear," meowed Firepaw, with a warm look at Ravenpaw.

"Yeah," meowed Ravenpaw.

"If we build one of these dens," meowed Foxpaw. "We can use it for the kits if the rogues attack."

"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of it being a secret?" meowed Firepaw, looking at Foxpaw with confusion.

"We have to think about the kits first, Firepaw," meowed Ravenpaw. "Besides, I wouldn't mind them in the den during a fight."

Foxpaw purred. "I'm glad we all agree on that." She looked at Firepaw, wondering if she should tell Firepaw about what she had told Yellowfang but then thought better of it. Yellowfang or Bluestar would tell him later. She glanced up at the sun; it was dipping low over the trees, threatening to approach the horizon. "I'm good for a hunting patrol."

"What about your injuries?" meowed Ravenpaw, nervously glancing at the medicine cat den, as if he expected Yellowfang to come charging out.

Foxpaw purred. "I'll be okay." Her eyes narrowed playfully. "Or are you thinking I might steal all your prey?"

Ravenpaw shot her a look that was mixed amusement and nervousness. "We already went hunting," he meowed, letting out a yawn.

Foxpaw lashed her tail. She was eager to sink her claws into prey. "You'd rather stay in camp with Tigerclaw?"

Ravenpaw's eye widened and he suddenly padded up between them, as if he could hide behind Foxpaw's larger size. The three apprentices padded out of the camp and quickly climbed the slope. Foxpaw turned them towards Tallpines.

"Why are we going here?" asked Firepaw. "There is no prey."

"Except rabbits," meowed Foxpaw. "Lionheart took me here for my first hunting mission, back when I was just a loner. It's how we found the rabbits in the first place."

A stab of sadness filled her and she longed to hear the tom tell her. She didn't care anymore if it was about the warrior code or not. She shook herself and padded ahead of the others, adopting a crouch and sneaking across the pine needles, listening and looking for the smell of rabbit.

Her two friends followed behind her stealthily. They padded up the slope and Foxpaw paused to wonder if a patrol had already come and killed or scattered all the rabbits. A sudden sharp scent told her that they had not and that there were more rabbits there then there had any right to be. Her heart pulsed in excitement and she gestured for the other cats to join her.

"There's a slope up ahead in that direction," she meowed, gesturing with her ears. "Firepaw and I will go around and climb to the top of the slope. Ravenpaw, you're the fastest. Try to heard as many rabbits as you can towards the slope. When they hit the bottom, we will jump down on them. If any turn back towards you, kill them. Understand?"

She receive nods of agreement from the other cats and blinked away a memory of her and Lionheart doing the same. She could almost imagine Lionheart in Firepaw's place as she padded towards the slope and around towards the top. For a heartbeat, she was distracted with the thought of naming the small slope, but settled back in the underbrush and waited patiently for Ravenpaw to arrive.

The black tom wasn't nearly as fast Runningwind, but the rabbits were much faster. There were nearly twice as many as there had been last time Foxpaw had been there, around seven of them all trying to run up the slope together. When they reached halfway up the slope, Foxpaw yowled and lunged. She batted the nearest rabbit upside the head and sent it rolling down the hill. She leaped down the slope, bowling into two more rabbits and dragging them down the slope with her. When she hit the bottom, twisting onto all fours, she pounced on the rabbits and immediately aimed for the necks, biting hard enough to crunch bone, before dropping the twitching freshkill and targetting another. She moved quickly from one rabbit to the next, wounding them all fatally but letting them run themselves into the ground.

Ravenpaw and Firepaw had a different tactic. Whatever prey they latched onto, they waited until it died before moving onto the next one. Because of this, Foxpaw managed to kill and maim four of the rabbits to Ravenpaw and Firepaw's three. She ignored the dead rabbits around her and darted after the one rabbit she had already maimed but could still flee the Lion's Trap.

 _Lion's Trap_ , she thought, _I'll have to remember that one._

She found the prey weakly struggling against a thicket, caught in it's fibers and unable to wiggle free. She dragged it out with her forepaws, her five-clawed paws gripping it strongly against its weak struggles and ended it's life with a firm bite to the throat. She was carrying it back before the life had completely drained from it's body. She dropped it at the edge of the clearing.

"Well," she meowed, "this should be enough to feed the Clan for two days."

"That was amazing!" meowed Ravenpaw, panting and eyes wide. "You took down four of them while we were still on our first!"

Firepaw was less impressed, looking down at the rabbits with pity in his eyes. "You just maimed them."

"In this instance, it was the only way to get the most prey," meowed Foxpaw. "Lion's Trap is the perfect place for this technique and the only way to get the most amount of prey. Let's just hope that the rain doesn't cause the prey to rot."

They carried the seven rabbits back to camp on their backs and in their jaws, with the big she-cat carrying three simultaneously. They were all tired and aching when they walked into the camp, struggling not to lose the rabbits on their backs in the bramble tunnel. They were greeted with the sight of most of the cats having gathered beneath the Highrock and in the midst of announcements ending.

"-here!" yowled Tigerclaw, halting when he caught sight of them. "Where have you been?" he demanded.

"Hunting, obviously," said Yellowfang for them, looking over the rabbits, a hint of surprise in her otherwise annoyed yellow gaze. "Foxpaw, I never told you that you could hunt!"

Foxpaw dropped the two rabbits in her mouth and looked at her Clanmates. "Sorry, Yellowfang," she meowed at last.

Yellowfang humphed. "That is beside the point," she meowed finally. "You missed the announcement."

The three apprentices glanced at each other in surprise. "Announcement?" Foxpaw echoed, thinking back to her conversation with Yellowfang. "What was it about?"

"Apparently," meowed Tigerclaw with a indescribable look at Firepaw, "you will be traveling to the Moonstone tomorrow. Congratulations."

"All of us?" meowed Foxpaw, surprised.

"No," meowed Tigerclaw. "Just you and Ravenpaw."

"Bluestar also revealed your heritage," meowed Whitestorm, looking at Firepaw with awe. "It is good to have Pinestar's grandson among us."

Tigerclaw bristled at this news and then looked at Firepaw, begrudgingly adding. "Yes, it is nice to have kin." He touched Firepaw's nose.

Firepaw was so confused, Foxpaw thought he had just seen a hedgehog fly. She purred. "I'm glad that Firepaw has some ThunderClan blood in him." Firepaw looked at her with wide eyes. Foxpaw winked at him and looked away. "We should probably put this prey on the pile."

Whitestorm blinked at her. "Yes," he meowed at last, awe edging his voice. "We won't keep you."

The three apprentices surged forward and placed the prey on the freshkill pile, seconds before it was quickly taken away by the Clan. About two rabbits were left behind, and Foxpaw snagged one before they could be left preyless. She led the way back to the apprentice's den, ignoring the murmurs of shock and surprise from the rest of the Clan.

"What did you tell them?" meowed Firepaw at last, looking around in surprise.

"You probably don't remember me," meowed Foxpaw, the lie flowing easily from her lips, "but I remember you from when I was a rogue. I saw you as a tiny kit. You looked exactly like your father, you know. He took a mate named Nutmeg, who was the daughter of a cat named Pine. My parents recognized him as a Clan cat right away. They thought he was a kindred spirit. He admitted that he used to be the leader of a Clan but had left for the life of a kittypet." Foxpaw paused. "That cat was Pinestar. Any elder in ThunderClan can tell you about _him_."

Firepaw looked thoughtful.

"That's amazing," meowed Ravenpaw finally, staring at Firepaw in surprise. "I can't believe you have Clanblood, Firepaw."

Firepaw looked at Foxpaw. "I can't believe _you_ have Clanblood."

Ravenpaw looked at Foxpaw in surprise. "What?"

Foxpaw paused, her mind racing to come up with a lie. "Yes, well, my parents were both descendant from a Clan. It was generations ago, though. The blood has thinned. I'm more rogue and kittypet than Clan cat."

Ravenpaw looked thoughtful. "Did you hear any stories?"

Foxpaw hesitated and nodded. "A few. The Clan my kin belonged to was called SkyClan." She showed them her pawpads. "You can tell I'm more SkyClan than my parents because of my pawpads. Thick and black pads for running up and down rocky slopes, thick and muscular legs for leaping, plus five claws for better grip on trees." She flexed her paws and claws to show them.

Firepaw put a paw next to hers and was surprised that she did have on extra claw on both paws, the dewclaw not included. "That's amazing," he breathed.

Ravenpaw wrinkled his nose. "I've never heard of SkyClan before," he said, looking at Firepaw.

"I know," meowed Foxpaw with a weak grin. "It doesn't really help my story, so I just never mentioned it before."

"I can't believe I'm part Clan," meowed Firepaw. "My mother never told me any stories about them."

Foxpaw grew curious. "Do you even remember your mother?"

Firepaw shrugged. "She was brown tabby and white, I remember." He was thoughtful. "She had a nice, soft voice."

"Like a kittypet's," meowed Foxpaw.

"Yeah," he said softly, lost in memory. His eyes sparkled with excitement.

"We should tell Graypaw!" meowed Ravenpaw, joy in his mew. "He'll be so surprised!"

"We should eat this rabbit," meowed Foxpaw, looking wryly down at the prey.

"Graypaw will want to eat it, too," meowed Ravenpaw, shifting anxiously on his paws.

"Firepaw," meowed Foxpaw. "Before Ravenpaw runs off on his own, why don't you go looking for Graypaw? I promise to leave a few mouthfuls behind for him."

Firepaw purred and ran off, leaping over the freshkill pile on his way out of the clearing. Foxpaw had never seen him look so happy. He was probably as light as air.

"Wow," meowed Ravenpaw. "Who could have thought that Firepaw was kin?"

 _He really isn't_ , thought Foxpaw, feeling happy for Firepaw. _But now no one will question whether or not he belongs._

 _Now, if only I could prevent the cats from telling him he's related to Tigerclaw. StarClan, if only Tigerclaw hadn't hinted at it already!  
_

* * *

 **A/N: Review, please! Tell me what you think of Firepaw x** **Foxpaw or Dustpelt x Foxpaw? Or, who you think Foxpaw should be paired with?  
**

 **Note;** **The next chapter is already mostly written, so its a safe bet that I'm going to post it Monday. Baring unforeseen things.  
**


	11. Into the Wild pt 11

**A/N: It seems the general consensus is DustpeltXFoxpaw... Awesome! I was setting that pairing up since the very beginning! As for FirepawXSandstorm... I'm fully aware of all the problems with _that_ and I have a few ideas of how to fix it but that's a subplot a few chapters in the future, when we finally get to Fire and Ice & Forest of Secrets.  
**

 **Thank you, NightmareTheWitchFox, for your review! I'm glad you like DustpeltXFoxpaw! (I like it too! xD)  
**

 **Thank you, Shaftem/Willowstorm of SkyClan! Speaking of SkyClan... they are _my_ favorite Clan! (Well, one of my favorites. xD) I just love the idea of kittypets and loners/rogues becoming warriors and always have. It just makes too much sense to me, especially when looking at genetics. Will they make an appearance in my story? Hmmm... maybe very far into the future. If I do add them, I might make this book the first in a series of stories. I'm still working out all the bugs and stuff so we shall see!**

 **Thank you, S1L3NTK1LL3RJAY, for your review! Tigerclaw... is complicated. He's going to get much more screen time during Fire and Ice, for sure, but it's... I'm still working him out? I have a few plans for him and I'm afraid not all of them are going to make the final cut. Which is really sad because one of them features him getting a new mate! T^T**

 **Thank you, AnonChan1! Seriously, thank you! That is honestly one of the best reviews I have ever seen. I'm so glad you love my story! Gosh, where do I start with a response? *Ahem.* (1) I'm glad you find it funny! I wasn't sure anyone would get it when I had her fight the second fox. (2) As for Darkstripe rumors... uh, some fanfics out there have a FerncloudXDarkstripe pairing going that is Rated M for various reasons. That's all I'm saying on that (which is probably too much already tbh). (3) StarClan makes an appearance in this very chapter, actually! Her "powers" make a reappearance here as well. I didn't want to give her anything fancy like the Power of Three's. It's very subtle. Or, at least, I hope it's subtle. You'll have to read and find out. XD (4) That was actually mentioned in Chapter 9... oh, wait, you're talking about Firepaw and Graypaw's trip. Well, wait and see. :D (5) Ravenpaw's warrior name. Uh, whoops! That is something I'll be talking about more next chapter... when they get their warrior names. And the answer is... kind of? Not really. It's one of the ones I was looking into though. XD (6) Hmmmmm. Hmm. Hmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMM. *mums the word on that stuff, yup* (7) Oh, that was just Foxpaw using it to refer to them being apprentices. It was done on purpose that time. :P  
**

* * *

"I knew you were special the moment I saw you!" Graypaw meowed loudly. "I never knew you'd be related to Tigerclaw! No wonder Bluestar likes you so much!"

The news hit Firepaw like a ton of bricks. He looked like his entire world had fallen out from under him. "W-what?" he meowed.

Foxpaw couldn't help but wince, wishing that Graypaw would just shut up right now.

"No wonder Bluestar likes you?" repeated Graypaw, confused.

Foxpaw struggled to figure out how to prevent the situation from spiraling further out of control, putting a tail-tip on Firepaw's shoulder in concern. "You do realize that Pinestar became a kittypet? It's obvious that he's nothing like Tigerclaw. Whatever made Tigerclaw evil had to come from his mother's side."

It wasn't much of a comfort. Firepaw worked his jaw, still stunned. "I'm his _nephew_ ," he meowed in shock.

"Sure, Firepaw," said Foxpaw, flashing a glare at Graypaw, as if to say ' _See, what you've done? You broke him! Now what am I supposed to do?'_.

Graypaw looked at Ravenpaw, lost. "You're related to the greatest warrior in ThunderClan. What's so bad about that?"

Ravenpaw hesitated, glancing at Foxpaw, but she pointedly ignored him as she pressed comfortingly into Firepaw's side. Ravenpaw swallowed. "Well..."

Ignoring them as Ravenpaw explained what he saw at the battle to Sunningrocks, Foxpaw meowed to Firepaw, "It doesn't matter what blood you have, Firepaw. You're heart and mind are loyal to ThunderClan, and you have compassion for your fellow cats and Clans. That makes you better than Tigerclaw in ways neither of you could imagine. Trust me, Firepaw."

Firepaw blinked at her. "I'm having to do that a lot, aren't I?"

Foxpaw tilted her head. "I suppose so," she meowed at last, suddenly feeling smug. "Have I failed you yet?"

Firepaw shook his head, whiskers twitching in amusement.

"I didn't know you and Foxpaw were becoming mates," Graypaw said, teasingly.

Foxpaw and Firepaw jerked away from each other as if burned, eyes wide in surprise. Then, Foxpaw's eyes narrowed at the laughing gray tom.

"We're more like friends," meowed Foxpaw, glancing at Firepaw. "Or siblings."

They all settled into a companionable silence, before Ravenpaw rose to his paws. "Firepaw and I have to go," he meowed, looking sorrowfully between Graypaw and Firepaw. "We have to get our traveling herbs from Yellowfang, remember?"

Foxpaw sighed and nodded. "We'll see you guys later! Don't eat all the prey while we're gone, okay, Graypaw?"

They padded up to the medicine cat den, and Foxpaw felt Ravenpaw pressing into her fur hard the closer they got, so much so that she was doing a sideways trot. She stopped and gently shoved Ravenpaw away.

"I cannot walk with you doing that," she meowed, finally, head tilted. "What's up?"

Ravenpaw blinked and ducked his head. "Uhm, I'm just worried."

"Trust me," Foxpaw said with a purr, "if she tries to pull anything, I'll pin her and chase her off like I did that fox."

Ravenpaw nodded and seemed to relax, up until Yellowfang stepped out of the medicine cat den and gave them both flinty eyed looks.

"Are you here to ask me _whether or not_ you can go to the Moonstone?" meowed Yellowfang, taking one look at Foxpaw's expression and glancing skyward as if looking for guidance. "Just take the herbs and leave. You're interrupting my nap."

Foxpaw decided not to point out that she couldn't have been taking a nap to notice them before they could announce themselves, but decided better of it and just grabbed the nearest herb bundle. Ravenpaw was a paw step quicker than her and waited nervously for her to catch up so they could enter the apprentice's den together.

When the sun had passed it's zenith and was approaching dusk, Foxpaw felt an uneasy sensation settle throughout her entire body. The first star appeared in the sky and she felt like a chill travel from nose to tail-tip, like a frozen wind had suddenly ghosted over her whole body. She curled deeper into her nest to block it out.

"I can't believe they're going to the Moonstone," meowed Swiftpaw, his young tenor voice cracking.

"Shh, you'll wake them!" hissed Brightpaw, and Foxpaw guessed she had glanced at them.

"She's barely been here for a moon!" meowed Swiftpaw, a sneer in his voice. "And what was all that nonsense about their ancestors being Clan cats? Firepaw doesn't look anything like Tigerclaw!"

"Shut up, or they'll hear you!" hissed Brightpaw. "Look, it's like what Bluestar said. They were brought to us by StarClan. We can't turn them away because they're _kin_. They belong with us."

"They don't belong anywhere. They aren't even half-Clan cats. They're more rogue and kittypet than anything else." There was disgust in his mew.

Foxpaw let out a sigh and raised her head. "Are you going to whine about this, Swiftpaw?"

Swiftpaw looked stricken, obviously not expecting her to actually be awake, before his expression turned into disgusted look. "You aren't a Clan cat. Anyone who looks at you both and hears you talk knows that."

"You know, I don't remember you catching four rabbits today or fighting a fox a quarter moon ago. Maybe that means you're more kittypet than Clan cat, Swiftpaw," meowed Foxpaw, licking her lips thoughtfully and eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Maybe it's you who needs to start speaking like a Clan cat."

Swiftpaw was bristling in anger, fury in his amber eyes and tightened jaw. "You questioning my loyalty?" he hissed.

"Are you saying I'm not allowed to defend myself when _you_ question _my_ loyalty?" Foxpaw sneered. "You really are a small brained kittypet, Swiftpaw. I expected better from a 'true' Clan cat."

Swiftpaw rose to his paws in anger, fur fluffed up to appear threatening. Foxpaw resisted the urge to roll her eyes, anger bubbling under her fur. She licked a paw to help calm herself, the cool motion serving only to infuriate Swiftpaw even more.

" _Swiftpaw_ ," hissed Brightpaw, eyes wide in surprise and worry, as if she expected the tom to leap at Foxpaw. "What's gotten into you?"

Swiftpaw glanced at Brightpaw and gave a soft growl towards Foxpaw before turning away. Foxpaw shook her head, before curling back up to sleep. Whatever had made her uneasy had finally passed and she found herself slipping easily into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A brisk dewy morning greeted Foxpaw when she awoke. A nervous energy had filled her from head to tail and she frowned to herself, worry prickling her fur, as she rose to her paws and grabbed her bundle of herbs. Swiftpaw had stretched out across the ground while he slept, dead to the world. Foxpaw couldn't help a purr, despite the tom's harsh words the night before. It made her nervous energy lessen for a brief second. She stepped out into an empty camp covered in a thin layer of mist, turning the dark shapes of cats into black silhouettes. For a brief second, Foxpaw wondered if she had stepped into the Dark Forest. There were two cats on vigil, looking out over the forest with their ears perked forward. There was Darkstripe munching and swallowing his bundle of herbs.

Foxpaw licked her chest, reining in her imagination before it could run away with her. She had to remember to keep a civil tongue today and last night had not been a good start on _that_. She stepped back into the apprentice den, revealing in the warmth of it, before prodding Ravenpaw awake. The smaller black tom blinked up at her, his green eyes strangely watery.

"Get up," she meowed softly. "We're leaving soon." Then she padded back outside to chow down on her herb bundle.

The ethereal mist seemed to leave a chill in her fur, making her shudder. She jumped when a black tom joined her, but relaxed when she realized it was Ravenpaw and not someone or _something_ else.

"It's going to be muddy this morning," meowed Foxpaw, at last. It was already muggy, but she doubted Ravenpaw would understand what that meant. "I think ShadowClan and RiverClan are going to enjoy it."

"Do you really think ShadowClan enjoys mud?" asked Ravenpaw.

Foxpaw shrugged. "Who knows? I think they'd be used to it by now and having no mud under their paws is just weird to them. You know, like mud is to us."

Ravenpaw tilted his head but made no comment on it. "We should head to the entrance."

Foxpaw nodded, allowing Ravenpaw to take a pawstep lead ahead of her as she glanced over to where the entrance was and where a dark figure stood. The fog made it impossible to discern color until they were practically on top of the cats and Foxpaw was more than a little disappointed to see her mentor standing there.

"Darkstripe," she greeted him, her mew straining to be civil.

The dark warrior blinked his yellow eyes at her and shot a heated look at Ravenpaw. "Apprentices," he said with a barely concealed sneer. "You're lucky you ran into that fox a few days ago, or else neither of you would be going to the Moonstone today. Don't expect us to just give you a warrior name when we return." There was the barest hint of a threat in his mew, but Foxpaw didn't think he had any real control over their future warrior ceremonies. He wasn't as well respected as Tigerclaw was.

Foxpaw licked a paw and swiped it over an ear. "You should be happy, Darkstripe. I'm your third apprentice and I'll be the only warrior in ThunderClan with the shortest time as an apprentice. Cats will be looking to you to train the next generation, even moreso than Tigerclaw."

Darkstripe opened his mouth to speak but whatever he wanted to say seemed to die on his throat as he processed her words. When he found his voice again, a new voice interrupted them.

"If you are ready, we may leave now," meowed Bluestar, emerging from the fog like a blue ghost. Her calm gaze flickered over their startled faces.

Darkstripe closed his mouth and nodded, rising to his paws and following Bluestar out of the bramble tunnel. Ravenpaw glanced nervously at Foxpaw before following after them. The fox-colored apprentice hesitated before following as well.

With Brokenstar banished from ShadowClan, Foxpaw could only guess at what lay in WindClan territory. She guessed that RiverClan and ShadowClan would still be trying to claim the territory for themselves, but that also meant that they were both starving, which couldn't possibly be the case because they were approaching Greenleaf. Prey was expected to only increase in number. ShadowClan might be afraid of appearing weak to the other Clans if they admit that they still need the extra territory for new prey. But Foxpaw doubted that these cats would think of it like that.

They padded into Fourtrees, and Foxpaw took her first real look at the place where Gatherings were held. The four massive oaks were placed in the four corners, each corner bordering one of the Clan territories. The scent of a great multitude of cats lingered around the area. If the moon was at it's zenith, it would be peering through the center of the leafy branches, it's light pouring straight down onto the Great Rock. Foxpaw was reminded that another Gathering was only a quarter moon away. She itched to see Fourtrees in it's full glory then, with the Great Rock surrounded on all sides by Clan cats.

They reached the edge of the moor, where the land steadily slopped upward into a giant hill, framed by the faint dawn light. Foxpaw guessed that WindClan camp had been situated at the top, where it would easiest to see any other Clan cats approaching, unless the fog was as heavy as it was this morning. They skirted around the bottom of the hill, an uneasy tension settling over them as they kept a careful and keen watch out for other cats, the fog turning every rock and rise into the crouching form of a cat. It was unnerving. Foxpaw couldn't smell anything except the heather and the faint scent of marsh and had all but convinced herself that no other cats could see or smell them through the fog, but the tension of the other cats spread to her quickly, making her glance over her shoulder in paranoia.

She was almost glad to pass the faint border that lined WindClan territory, taking a long sniff of the faint scent of marsh. Her mind wandered back to when she had entered ShadowClan territory, when the mud had felt good in her fur despite everything that had happened. She sighed and padded onward, bounding forward to catch up with Ravenpaw. The black tom glanced at her, eyes wide, but relaxed marginally at her presence. They didn't speak, afraid to the break the spell that the fog had cast over them.

As the sun slowly crawled up the sky and as they traveled further and further from ShadowClan territory, the fog began to disburse. The world seemed to open out before them, and Foxpaw felt like she had been suffocating before. She breathed in fresh air and felt her muscles relax. Even Ravenpaw looked calmer, more confident. Foxpaw couldn't help purring, and Ravenpaw glanced at her in confusion.

"You look more like a warrior everyday," she explained, eyes sparking playfully as she gave a mock sniff. "I'm so proud of you, my son."

Ravenpaw ducked his head and grinned. "Thanks to you," he meowed, humbly.

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she meowed, somewhat flustered with the compliment. She flicked her tail at him. "But I couldn't have done it if there wasn't a spark of warrior spirit within you from the start."

Ravenpaw purred, and Foxpaw couldn't help the spark of joy at seeing him pleased with the praise. Ahead, she saw a sign reading, "Windover Farm" and beyond was the top of a dark brown barn. She glanced at Ravenpaw and suddenly felt guilty. They quickly reached a light brown field, before coming to a small thunderpath. Foxpaw and Bluestar padded up to the edge of the thunderpath fearlessly while Ravenpaw and Darkstripe shrank back from the edge. Bluestar glanced down at her, looking up and down the thunderpath and across the empty fields beyond to determine whether it was safe.

"You can feel the vibrations of approaching thunderpaths with your paw," meowed Foxpaw, quietly so Darkstripe couldn't hear as she placed her paw on the black asphalt. "Monsters won't stray off the thunderpath unless their twoleg masters let them. And they usually don't because it will damage the monster."

Bluestar flicked her ears thoughtfully. "I see."

Foxpaw sensed there were no monsters coming and nodded at Bluestar, who gestured with her tail for them all to cross. Darkstripe practically bolted across, struggling to regain his partial lead in the party. Foxpaw dropped back with Ravenpaw, content to let the two warriors lead.

They had been traveling for the entire day and night was fast approaching. They reach Mothermouth just as dusk settled over them.

"We will wait for moonhigh," meowed Bluestar, settling down right next to the entrance. "You may rest now."

Ravenpaw gratefully flopped down onto the ground and curled up as if to sleep. Darkstripe meowed that he'd go hunting and disappeared beyond the top of the slopes. Foxpaw didn't bother to attempt to hunt, instead curling on the ground next to Ravenpaw, watching the darkening sky. She couldn't help but think of Barley and the future she had robbed from Ravenpaw.

She barely noticed when night fell over the entrance to the mine. A strange, ethereal smoke seemed to poor out of the Mothermouth. Foxpaw glanced at Ravenpaw, who was licking his paw quietly.

"Does this happen often?" she asked, but only earned a confused look from Ravenpaw.

"Does what happen often?" he meowed, voice subdued by the smoke.

"The fog," she meowed.

"What fog?"

Foxpaw opened her mouth to explain but watched the smoke passing through Ravenpaw. A cold shiver scurried down her spine and she sat up, looking around. The moon was nearing moonhigh. Bluestar rose to her paws and meowed, "Ravenpaw, you can join me if you wish. Foxpaw, wait out here in case Darkstripe returns. Guard the entrance."

Ravenpaw glanced at Foxpaw as if to apologize for leaving her behind but Foxpaw kept her expression neutral and merely shrugged at him. The smoke was elbow deep now, but when Ravenpaw passed through it towards the Mothermouth, it didn't stir. Foxpaw felt her heart beat faster as she watched the smoke begin to obscure everything around her. She was alone in a field of grey. She curled her tail around her paws and realized she was shivering as if from cold.

A distant, faint cry suddenly split the air. Foxpaw rose to her paws, looking around but the smoke seemed to obscure even that noise. Could it have been Darkstripe? Or Barley? Were the rats attacking?

 _Stay here,_ she told herself _, you're safest if you stand still and wait it out._

A wail seemed to echo the cry, only this time it was much louder. Foxpaw looked left and right, before slowly turning around, her fur standing on end. There, obscured by fog, was a dark gray shape. It emerged from the fog and, like a torch turning on, the cat seemed to suddenly glow brightly with the light of a great multitude of stars. Foxpaw watched silently as the big, familiar dark brown tabby tom approached her.

" _Foxpaw,"_ meowed the tom, his voice sounding as if it were coming from far away, " _I have come to warn you_."

"Are you from StarClan?" she asked, her voice squeaking.

" _Foxpaw,"_ he continued as if she hadn't said anything, _"whatever you dream will become reality. If you dream of StarClan or of the Dark Forest, you will die and remain there. We will protect you from them for as long as we can, but we cannot protect you from yourself._ "

Foxpaw shuddered. "Who are you?"

The familiar tom looked like he hadn't heard. " _Only you can choose when to die. That is the gift we have given you. Use it wisely._ "

Then the smoke obscured him. Foxpaw watched as the smoke disappeared, slowly fading away into nothingness. Soon, she was standing at the entrance to Mothermouth, alone, and the moon had already started it's path down towards the horizon. Darkstripe was nowhere to be found, and she couldn't bring herself to think of that as a good thing. She was still shivering, wishing that Ravenpaw and Bluestar would return so she didn't have to be alone.

 _Where is Darkstripe?_ she thought, dreading the answer. Should she go looking for him? She felt like she was rooted to the spot, petrified.

As the moon continued to set, pawsteps echoed from the mouth of the cave. Foxpaw looked nervously over her shoulder and blinked in relief when Ravenpaw and Bluestar emerged. She practically bolted over to them, a relieved wordless mew escaping her as she circled Ravenpaw and pressed up into the startled cat's side.

"You're back!" she finally said through a throaty and relieved purr.

"We weren't gone that long," meowed Ravenpaw, looking up at Bluestar, "were we?"

Bluestar flicked her ears thoughtfully. "Where is Darkstripe?"

"I don't know," meowed Foxpaw, real fear in her voice as her eyes darted around wildly, as if afraid rats would come surging down the slope to slaughter them. Ashamed of her fear, especially because it was mostly irrational, she ducked down and flattened her ears. "He never came back."

Ravenpaw pressed comfortingly into her side but his face expressed confusion. Bluestar looked serious as she gazed up at the slope entrance. "We will track him."

Foxpaw nodded, relieved that someone was thinking of a plan.

"Follow me," meowed Bluestar, and darted up the slope without a backwards glance.

When Ravenpaw made to follow, Foxpaw hurried to catch up, not wanting to be left behind again. They crested the rise and surged towards the thunderpath. Foxpaw could smell Darkstripe's scent faintly on the grass and the wind, and she remembered the cry before her vision had begun. An uncomfortable feeling had settled in her gut. What if that had been Darkstripe, crying out for help only to be silence. The answer wail suddenly sounded like the cry of a StarClan cat, grieving as another cat joined Dark Forest ranks. She shook herself and reminded herself that things like that had never happened in canon before, so there was no way to tell what had actually happened.

They came to a stop at the top of a ditch and Foxpaw realized that there was another smell on the air. "Bluestar!" she meowed, panting. "There's something else here."

Bluestar was staring silently towards the bottom of the ditch, her eyes wide in shock. Confused, Foxpaw followed her gaze. At first, all she could see was a couple of patches of loose dark gray fur - rat fur - except the fur was far too long to belong to something as small as a rat. Foxpaw felt like her body had just been sapped of energy and she slowly sank on her paws. Ravenpaw gave a low whimper.

"Darkstripe?" she asked, but she wasn't expecting a response.

Silently, they spread out over the top of the ditch, hoping to find out what had happened to the rest of him. Foxpaw couldn't see anything and, desperate, slipped down the wet slope into the mud to feel around for him. She touched every strange bump and rise, dragging out some unidentifiable mess that could have been a rat or trash and unsure whether to feel disappointed or relieved when she found nothing.

"Foxpaw!" meowed Bluestar, her voice sounding stern and edged with fear. "Come back up here!"

Foxpaw looked up hopefully at Bluestar but realized the she hadn't found anything either. They were giving up the search. She looked around at the ditch around her, imagining Darkstripe's body lying hidden under a mound of mud, alone. Finally, she turned to join Bluestar. When she tried to climb up the ditch walls, she slipped back down, sliding through the mud. A thought occurred to her and she called up.

"Maybe Darkstripe went looking for a way out?"

Bluestar seemed to consider her words before she disappeared and Foxpaw felt a sudden fear at being alone. The ThunderClan leader reappeared with Ravenpaw at her side.

"We will head back towards the direction of Mothermouth," Bluestar meowed. "Follow us down below."

Foxpaw nodded, relieved that they hadn't given up the search. She wadded through the mud, feeling like she was a ShadowClan cat again. Around her, the lumps in the mud seem to be getting smaller. She halted a few times to watch a thin stream of muddy water pouring into the ditch and wonder what could have caused it. Eventually, they reached a part of the ditch that was dryer. Foxpaw was soon splashing through the mud as she began racing for the dryer ground. A cry from above, filled with grief, did not sound promising but Foxpaw was determined to see whatever it was. She reached a dry wall and breathed a sigh of relief, before clawing her way up to the top of the ditch. Darkstripe lay stretched out on the ground in front of her. With a jolt, she realized that she had followed in his pawsteps, literally.

"He's alive!" meowed Ravenpaw with relief, looking up at Foxpaw with hopeful eyes. He looked at Bluestar and the faint optimism seemed to suddenly die. "He'll live, won't he?"

Foxpaw padded closer to see Bluestar washing his fur. Her eyes were clouded with grief, and Foxpaw realized that whatever wounds Darkstripe had were fatal. She padded up to the dark gray tom and pressed her nose into his chest. She could hear his wheezing breath, weak and bubbly, and realized that one of his lungs had been punctured during the attack. No medicine cat could heal that. Darkstripe was dying.

"I'm sorry," Foxpaw meowed weakly, looking at Bluestar. "If I had known..."

"You would have been killed, too," meowed the queen quietly. "The rats did this to him."

Foxpaw blinked silently and pressed into Darkstripe's fur, listening to his heartbeat. His bubbly breathing had slowed slightly since they had arrived. Foxpaw closed her eyes, unable to turn away or hide as she listened to him slowly fade away. Ravenpaw whimpered beside her and pressed into her fur as they all sat vigil through the remainder of the night.

They didn't move until the sun was it's peak. Their fur was soaked with dew and Foxpaw felt her muscles ache from sleeping out in the open. A paw prodded her side and she rose, feeling like a ghoul risen from the dead. Foxpaw didn't even notice the mud clinging to her fur.

"We will bury him away from this ditch," meowed Bluestar, with a glance away.

"I'll find an oak tree," meowed Ravenpaw, glancing at Foxpaw who simply nodded.

Foxpaw quietly padded around Darkstripe, silently putting her tail on Bluestar's shoulder to move her away from the body. Then, she knelt beside Darkstripe and pulled him onto her back. She carried the dead warrior like she had done the rabbits, waiting for Ravenpaw to return and guide them to the tree. It wasn't long afterwards, with her paws aching from the weight, that she carried Darkstripe to his grave underneath a tall, thick oak tree. She curled up on top of his grave, wondering if StarClan had purposefully prevented her from coming to his aid. The cry and wail echoed in her mind.

 _How many warriors will die because I exist?_ she wondered, feeling feeling her heart swell with sadness. _Will the Clans survive the changes my existence has made?_

"Foxpaw," meowed Bluestar, her voice quiet in sympathy. "It is time to go."

The fox-colored she-cat looked at Bluestar and rose to her paws, staggering slightly under her own weight. Ravenpaw pressed into her side to support her. Foxpaw glanced at him, remembered that he was here instead of with Barley. With Darkstripe dead, they would need all the warriors they'd get. Suddenly, she didn't feel guilty about convincing him to stay. His Clan would need him.

 _They need me, too_ , she thought. _They need me to protect him.  
_

Foxpaw offered Ravenpaw a small smile and was glad to see him return it, looking relieved. It was good to be needed.

* * *

 **A/N: Wahhhhhh, Darkstripe's gone. I am so upset with his character, right now. I was planning a whole subplot arc around his redemption, but then I realized it would be too much! (There are already too many subplots going around, tbh.) I'm also upset that we only get hints at his training method with Foxpaw. I was planning so much more with his character. (He's my favorite character!) Sadly, he had to go. I could always... HMMMM.  
**


	12. Into the Wild pt 12

**A/N: Ai-yo! I'll only be answering the reviews on Chapter 11 for this chapter. Sorry, fellas, but thanks for your reviews! Also, I want to mention that I picked out Foxpaw's warrior name because I honestly think it both fits... and because it's ironic. Irony is funny to me, tbh.  
**

 **Thank you, Willowstorm of SkyClan, for you review and suggestion! Unfortunately, Foxwhisker is the name of an already existing Clan cat and I'm trying to avoid those. (Foxclaw, Foxheart and Foxnose had to be thrown out as well. :( ) I hope you approve of the name I pick out for her, though. *evil smile*  
**

 **Thank you, Fakira! It's so good to hear that you love my story so much! Thanks for your review!**

 **Thank you, S1L3NTK1LL3RJAY, for your review! Actually, there's a scene in Code of the Clans when Darkstripe and Longtail break the warrior code, which happened before Foxpaw came to the Clans. That is canon to this story and it was the only thing I really wanted to redeem him for. There is, of course, other ways of redeeming him, but talking about that would be spoiling future plot. :P**

 **Thank you, AnonChan1! *takes a deep breath* Yes, it is better to be safe than sorry! (A) Ah, but Graypaw didn't know that until Ravenpaw told him in the last chapter. (B) I think Goldenflower would have a word with Graypaw if she found he was shipping FirepawXFoxpaw. All her hopes would be dashed, lol. (C) Yellowfang's snark is fun to write. Who better to put Foxpaw down a peg than the master of sass? Foxpaw, darling, you are but a mere apprentice when it comes to snark. (D) Ah, yes, Swiftpaw... hm. (E) I honestly don't think Foxpaw is trying to manipulate anyone; she just loves pointing out things that are obvious to her, which is whether or not something benefits someone else. (F) Yeah... le sigh. (G) Reality-walker, and an accidental one at that. It gets talked about a bit more in this chapter. (H) Oh, the fun has barely begun... *evil laugh* (I) The real question is... what can I still do? :)**

* * *

Foxpaw struggled to remain stealthy as they passed through WindClan territory again. The scents of RiverClan had faded and the scents of ShadowClan seemed to stand out among the smell of rabbit and heather. A pang of longing and homesickness swept through her. She sighed and padded onward. Her loyalty was to ThunderClan.

When they reached Fourtrees, they had scented no Clan cats for so long that Foxpaw believed the earlier scent had been a fluke.

"What are we going to tell the others?" murmured Ravenpaw, glancing at Bluestar. They were passing beneath the leafy canopy of Fourtrees, just a foxlength behind the ThunderClan leader. They had been quiet the entire trip and, though Foxpaw knew this wasn't abnormal, it still felt more heavy than it had before Darkstripe's death.

"Beware of the rats," Foxpaw meowed dryly, following his gaze briefly. She felt tired, like the weight of the world had nestled around her shoulders. Thoughts of her vision danced in her head.

They padded into ThunderClan territory and wadded through the stream they had used, what felt like half a moon ago, to clean their fur of marshwater. Foxpaw shuddered at the feel of cold water in her fur and shivered, lip curling in disgust. She couldn't imagine herself taking a shower or a bath anymore, unless it was a mud bath.

They scented the fresh smell of a patrol which had passed through minutes before. Foxpaw glanced at Bluestar, but the blue-gray she-cat didn't seem to notice it. Foxpaw couldn't help but wonder if Dustpelt was on the patrol. Dustpelt had known Darkstripe for far longer than she had; he would be devastated at his loss, especially since Darkstripe didn't betray the Clan this time round.

 _He probably still thinks Darkstripe was a good warrior_ , Foxpaw thought, remembering how they argued about Tigerclaw. What did it take to convince that stubborn tom that Tigerclaw was evil? A confession?

Foxpaw wondered if that was even still possible after everything that had happened.

 _Whatever you dream will become reality_ , the cat had said. Foxpaw paused. Did that mean she could dream Darkstripe back to life? Was that what StarClan meant?

She doubted it. It made no sense. Surely StarClan was referring to how she arrived to the Clans in the first place. It was by pure accident, though. Was that why StarClan promised to protect her until she was ready to choose when to die? So the Dark Forest couldn't claim her as one of their own and so she couldn't die by accident? Suddenly, Foxpaw wished she could have unthought and unsaid a lot of bad things she had said about the Clans and how they were run. She did not want to end up walking, forever alone, in the Dark Forest.

 _It's my choice when I should die. That is StarClan's gift._

She imagined herself many years in the future, the oldest cat in the Clans, so old that all her fur had turned white or light gray. That future version of her opened her mouth and babbled nonsense; a cat who had grown so old they had completely lost their mind. She shuddered and blinked, worry prickling her fur.

Did this mean she couldn't become leader of the Clan? Becoming leader required a leadership ceremony but that required visiting StarClan and, if she dreamed of StarClan, she would die. Or it could mean she was never allowed to become a medicine cat, because they had to commune with in their dreams. Admittedly, they could still send her omens and prophecies.

 _StarClan speaks to me differently than other cats_ , Foxpaw thought, remembering the squirrel omen. _It's required, because any normal visit would mean sleeping to receive dreams._

Her mind whirled with possibilities. Did this mean she'd have to interpret more omens sent to her? Could she still become a medicine cat? The thought of having a running nose for the rest of her life simply because she slept in a den full of herbs made her uncomfortable. She itched to fight, especially against Brokenstar. That cowardly tom owed her a rematch and she burned to swipe her claws through the kit-killer's fur.

Feeling somewhat more awake, Foxpaw noted that they had finally reached ThunderClan camp. She hesitated, allowing Ravenpaw and Bluestar to pad ahead of her. She glanced back, remembering the bloody fox she had fought only a week prior. Had that also been an omen? Was that fox a representation of what she would become? A bloody-mess that fought even though she was supposed to lay down and die?

A cold gust of wind suddenly ruffled her fur, the faint scent of marsh on the breeze. She tensed, thinking ShadowClan was coming to attack, but she realized the scent belong to only one cat. A tom. Baffled, she shook herself and padded into the camp.

For a heartbeat, she was glad nothing had happened to it while she was gone. It was the first good news she had all day. She looked around and noticed that Ravenpaw had already joined the other apprentice, his mouth moving rapid fire as he described what happened. Foxpaw didn't bother listening in, suddenly sad that she had missed seeing the Moonstone. It would have been nice to see the huge stone or diamond or what have you light up with the full moon. Instead, she spotted Dustpelt and quickly padded over.

"Hey, Foxpaw," he meowed, relieved to see her. "How did it go? Where's Darkstripe?"

"Dustpelt," she meowed, struggling to form words. She saw sudden understanding in his startled eyes. "I'm sorry."

The dusky brown warrior sat down hard. "How did it happen?"

"He went hunting," meowed Foxpaw softly, ears flat. "He fell down a ditch. He couldn't climb back up easily because the walls were too slippery. I know, I fell down there myself."

"That's why you're covered in mud," he meowed, nodding.

"Yes," she meowed, licking her muddy white chest fur. "We aren't sure what happened. I thought the rats might have eaten him, but when we found his body it looked like he had impaled himself on some human trash while trying to climb out of the ditch. He was covered in rat bites and mud, Dustpelt. His breathing sounded like he was half-underwater and he was unconscious. We couldn't do anything. I'm sorry, Dustpelt. I should have been there for him. Maybe I could have saved him." Her voice gradually became more and more distraught as she spoke and she wrapped her tail around her like a hug when she stopped, bracing for him to yell at her.

Dustpelt pressed into her side and put his tail on her shoulder. "You're not a medicine cat, Foxpaw, and even our medicine cats wouldn't have known what to do. Did he die peacefully?"

"He didn't know we were there," meowed Foxpaw distraught, looking up at his eyes and calming at his sympathetic and warm gaze. "But yes. He passed away when he was unconscious. We were there as he faded."

Dustpelt nodded. "It's good that he had Clanmates nearby when he passed." He looked away and Foxpaw followed his gaze to where Bluestar had taken up position at the top of the Highrock.

"Cats of ThunderClan!" she meowed, skipping the traditional call since most of the cats were already in the clearing. "Some of you have already heard the news." Her voice was grave. "When we visited the Moonstone yesterday, Darkstripe went out hunting alone and did not return. Ravenpaw and I found his body beside the ditch, the last of his life leaving him." She lowered her head.

A wail of grief split the clearing and Foxpaw flinched, remembering a similar wail when she was standing outside the Mothermouth. Was that the cat who had been wailing from StarClan when Darkstripe was fatally wounded? She shook herself. This cat was alive, and that StarClan cat had been dead... unless it had been an omen. Was she supposed to be watching out for them now? Foxpaw looked around, half-expecting an omen to pop out of thin air right in the middle of camp. Her fur prickled with anxiety.

"We were not able to bring back his body so we will sit vigil for him tonight. He will be remembered and dearly missed."

Bluestar padded off the Highrock. Foxpaw's gaze landed on Willowpelt, who was leaning heavily on Whitestorm. The wise warrior looked like a deer in the headlights, unsure how to comfort her but doing his best to. Goldenflower and Mousefur were nearby and murmuring softly to Willowpelt.

Foxpaw lowered her head and flattened her ears, looking for all the world as if she was guilty of murder. Dustpelt nudged her shoulder.

"You should sleep," he meowed softly. "Your warrior ceremony might be tomorrow, after all."

Foxpaw felt slightly irritated that Dustpelt was treating her like an apprentice. They were the same age. Well, technically, she was older than him. "I'm fine, Dustpelt."

"You've been through a lot," Dustpelt told her.

"No more than any other cat," Foxpaw meowed stiffly. "How are you holding up, anyways?"

Dustpelt grew quiet. "I'm fine."

"Good," meowed Foxpaw, "so am I."

"Are you sure?" asked Dustpelt, concerned. "It can be hard dealing with loss on your own."

Foxpaw stared at him and couldn't help the purr from erupting from her throat. "I'm okay, Dustpelt. I can handle myself. I have for a few seasons now."

"But you don't have to do it alone anymore," meowed Dustpelt, honestly confused.

"I am never alone, Dustpelt," meowed Foxpaw, lifting her head and looking at him with quiet confidence. "StarClan is watching over me. Can you handle yourself?"

"Yeah," he meowed, noticeably quieter as he stared at her with steady eyes. She saw a flash of recognition in them. He nodded. "I'm used to this."

"Then I guess we're both good," meowed Foxpaw. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night, Dustpelt."

Dustpelt nodded. With a flick of her tail in goodbye, Foxpaw padded away to the apprentice's den.

* * *

"Wake up, Foxpaw!" meowed Ravenpaw, his voice like a foghorn in her ear, startling her awake. "Wake up! The meeting has already started!"

Blinking blearily, the massive she-cat rose to her paws and padded out of the den. The Clan had already gathered underneath the Highstones. The five moon old kits, Cinderkit, Thornkit and Brackenkit had all piled out of the nursery to watch, alongside Goldenflower, Frostfur and Brindleface. Foxpaw blinked up at Bluestar, noting that her tone of voice sounded like someone getting ready to start wedding vows and she couldn't help but smile at the comparison.

"Our warrior ceremony?" she asked, anticipation and hope filling her.

He nodded, his face split in a smile and eyes shining, as if to say, "We made it!"

Foxpaw's gaze swept through the warriors, her massive size allowing her to look a little over the first row of warriors. She was disappointed when she didn't find who she was looking for. Would he be welcoming into the warrior's den like he did when was made an apprentice?

"Ravenpaw, Foxpaw, come forward," meowed Bluestar, gesturing them forward with a tail flick. Ravenpaw eagerly moved forward, weaving through the crowd with barely contained excitement. He sat down at the base of the Highrock and looked up towards his leader. It took a half second for Foxpaw to realize what she should follow. She padded slowly up to the Highrock, looking up at Bluestar and waiting nervously for her to speak.

"I, Bluestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these experienced apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Ravenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to defend and to protect this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I-I do," he meowed, head held high.

Foxpaw glanced at Tigerclaw, noting his expressionless features. Her eyes fell to look for Firepaw, but the ginger apprentice seemed to be hiding behind a wave of cats. Her dead snapped back up towards Bluestar as the ceremony continued.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Ravenpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Ravenfeather. StarClan honors your compassion and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

Before the yowls could start, Bluestar immediately looked at Foxpaw, her icy-blue eyes contrasting with her warm gold. "Foxpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to defend and to protect this Clan even at the cost of your own life?"

Despite having made the same promise on her apprentice ceremony, Foxpaw felt like two glaciers had landed on her shoulders and she was expected to carry them for the rest of her life. Her heart pounded in her chest and she forced herself to stand straight, meowing loudly and firmly. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Foxpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Foxface. StarClan honors your strength and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

Bluestar leaped gracefully off the Highrock and stepped up to Ravenfeather so he could lick her shoulder. Then she let Foxface do the same. Foxface could hardly taste Bluestar's fur. Sandstorm's tease rang like a bell through her mind. _Does this mean I'm ugly?_ She dismissed the thought a heartbeat later as the Clan began calling their names.

" _Foxface! Ravenfeather! Foxface! Ravenfeather!"_

Bluestar waved her tail for silence. "Tonight, these new warriors will stand vigil over the camp!" She looked at Foxface and grew quieter, as if telling her a secret. "You cannot speak during your vigil. I wish you a good rest."

Foxface dipped her head graciously and padded away to the warrior's den. Dustpelt was the first to greet her, his warm mew startling her.

"Welcome to the warrior's den, Foxface," he meowed, purring.

Foxface couldn't help but remember when he welcomed her into the apprentice den and purred. She wasn't sure she liked him calling her Foxface, though. She glanced back at Bluestar, wondering if she wasn't allowed to speak now.

Dustpelt purred. "Your vigil starts at dusk and ends at dawn. I'll see you tomorrow."

He gave Ravenfeather a glance and a nod, which made the black tom purr. Foxface flicked an ear at Dustpelt, deciding that she had guessed correctly about not speaking. Ravenfeather gestured to the freshkill pile and Foxface nodded. After they had finished sharing a squirrel, the sun had reached dusk and the two new warriors quickly made their way to the edge of the camp.

Foxface waited for the sun to fully set before she rose to her paws and leaped up the nearest tree, looking around at the camp and the surrounding forest with warm golden eyes. She heard the sound of Ravenfeather doing the same and they both settled down to wait out the chilly newleaf night. The almost full moon climbed up into the sky, lighting the camp with it's cool glow.

It was while waiting for the dawn that Foxface learned the limits to her patience. By the time an hour had passed, she was itching to move from her spot and race through the trees. Her powerful muscles seemed to twitch with eagerness to move and she wondered how Ravenfeather was doing. The black tom seemed to have curled up and fallen asleep on his perch, but occasionally she saw the flash of his amber eyes.

 _He can probably see better in the dark than I can_ , she thought to herself. Her eyes were yellow, which certainly helped with night vision, but the warmer and darker the eye color then the easier it was for a cat's eye to pierce the darkness. It was what made them good night hunters. It made Foxface wonder why there weren't any night patrols and instead there were only nightly vigils. That was one of the things she planned to fix when she became deputy.

 _I should be leader, too_ , she thought, before remembering StarClan's message. If dreaming of StarClan killed her, she wouldn't be able to receive her nine lives or her leader name. She wouldn't die unless she wanted to, but it would seem strange to never die except once.

Her paws prickled as she thought of how to become leader. She'd need an apprentice. She'd have to kill Tigerclaw, no doubt of that, but how? She had learned through her training that, despite being as big as Tigerclaw and possibly still growing, she was the slowest cat in the Clan.

Sandstorm might have been just kidding when she called her as slow as a snail, but that proved rather accurate. Foxface still had trouble chasing mice and voles, and her main success had been in squirrels and rabbits, which were better for the Clan anyway since it was more meat. She couldn't exactly complain about it.

But despite Tigerclaw being faster than her, Foxface had unbridled strength and quick reflexes. It probably wasn't strong enough to fight the dark warrior one-on-one, but it made her respected by the Clan and let her win their trust. If it turned out Bluestar died before Firepaw could be made deputy, Foxface knew she could fill the role of leader and make sure Firepaw is made her deputy and leader afterwards.

Foxface imagined herself fighting battles against other Clans and playing dead for a while, just to pretend to lose a life. It would be tricky, but she could pull it off. She just couldn't imagine herself encouraging battles to start so she could have that end result. _Firepaw_ would sabotage her at every opportunity. No, no, she had to make sure that she killed Tigerclaw before Bluestar was on her last life.

The massive, fox-colored she-cat looked up at the sky and blinked, disappointed that the moon hadn't even reached moonhigh. It was going to be a long night. She turned her thoughts back to her plan.

She needed to find out how many lives Bluestar had, which would be tricky considering Bluestar only ever told Firepaw that. If she couldn't find out, she had to settle for killing Tigerclaw at the nearest opportunity. How she will manage this, she didn't know.

And what about that injured fox she fought? Tigerclaw had to have something to do with it, or what else could explain his injuries? The dark warrior had never explained what had happened to him and had kept quiet about the whole affair. Perhaps he was traumatized by it? Foxface remembered his expressionless features during her warrior ceremony. She couldn't remember him at Darkstripe's vigil; she had been too focused on Dustpelt. What was going through the dark tabby's mind? She wanted to ask Ravenfeather what he thought but remembered she was supposed to be on a vigil and so kept quiet.

 _He's probably just thinking_ , she thought, feeling a cold shiver up her spine. If Tigerclaw was just thinking, it really meant something terrible would happen.

She glanced up at the sky again, and almost hissed in frustration when she realized it still hadn't reached moonhigh. She longed to ask someone about Tigerclaw, especially now that she had run out of things to think about.

Well, not really, but Foxface didn't know what to think about StarClan's words. She was pretty sure that StarClan hadn't given her the gift of, what she guessed was, dimension hopping. Rather, they seemed to be protecting her from hopping into their dimension or the Dark Forest's by accident. They had given her the gift to choose when to do it, instead of letting a StarClan or Dark Forest cat hijack her dream whenever they felt like it, killing her. StarClan was all about freewill, after all, and all their real power came from Rock, the ancient dead cat and source of all prophecy.

Foxface huffed in frustration and started grooming herself. Any little thing to help the time pass. She was restless. How could Dustpelt and Firepaw stand this? It was torture! And - was that a tick in her pelt?

The ex-human felt like screaming, but stubbornly kept her mouth shut. It came out as a long drawn out squeak.

* * *

 **Foxy's day went from bad to worse. My poor girl.  
**

 **Foxpaw was the hardest cat to name. I went through SO MANY. You do not understand! I have a textpad open right now listing over _fifty different names_. I especially liked Foxshadow, Foxspirit, Foxmask and Foxpelt. Then I remembered Sandstorm's old little crack at her, and I just went with it, plus I think it make a neat parallel between her and Brindleface's personality. ****There is still room to change her name in the future, if you guys think it's too insulting (vote in the poll on my bio! Hopefully you guys without accounts can still vote in the poll).**

 **Ravenpaw was equally hard to name. My favorite out of them all was Ravenfeather, though I was iffy on the name because I thought I like it because of Crowfeather and Jayfeather. I also thought about giving him Raventail, in reference to Redtail, but I didn't build that up enough so I scrapped that idea. Ravenwing was considered because of Cherith and because of his mother Robinwing, and so was Ravenclaw because Vicky's mistake is hilarious. I tested out Ravensong for a while but decided it didn't sound as good as Ravenfeather.** **  
**

 **Also, I might not be updating next Monday. I have also decided to change the update dates to Monday and Thursday (hence why I'm posting this TODAY), because my Sats are gonna be too busy to work on this. ALSO, I will be introducing a new POV next chapter (which is going to feature the Gathering and be the start of the Fire and Ice sections) so... hope you guys are looking for to it!  
**


	13. Fire and Ice pt 1 (plus Allegiances)

**A/N: Woohoo! I posted a chapter today! Rock on! Thank you all you lovely people for your reviews!**

 **Thank you to Fakira! There is room to change her name! If you want, you can give a suggestion in a review. I might post another poll which will include all the winning names and you can pick from those, if you wish, though you probably won't be able to vote in the poll? IDK how FFnet works.  
**

 **Thank you, Willowstorm of SkyClan! Ooo, the fluff won't really begin until next chapter. Like I said before, this chapter features a very special POV. Maybe next chapter :P**

 **Thank you to AnonChan1! I suppose in that context it could be a bit of manipulation involved, mostly because Foxpaw had been wanting to be made a warrior and Darkstripe had just threatened to prolong her apprenticeship and the only way to convince Darkstripe that he would want that too was because it would help with his reputation. She didn't _mean_ to manipulate him but, in a sense, that was what would have happened. It's just not what is typically considered manipulation since manipulation requires moons and moons of build up before it can effectively payoff. Does that help? :) (1) I don't think Darkstripe was particularly well liked beyond the stereotypical "He's a good warrior and we will miss the skills and stuff he could have used to help protect the Clan if he died". A lot of cats in the warrior series, Thistleclaw and Tigerclaw among them, fall under this category a lot, especially when it comes to the protagonist thinking about them post-mortem. I guess it's just a Clanner's way of thinking? I like that Bluestar thinking of Thistleclaw post-mortem parallels with Firestar thinking of Tigerstar post-mortem. Or, at least, that was the sense I got when I read Bluestar's Prophecy. (2) Hmm. I like that you're thinking about this. :) (3) That is so true. (4) HahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA! (5) That is true, but responsibility is a necessary aspect of all Clan life. You have to be a responsible warrior to make sure that you are getting enough sleep/food so you aren't too tired/weak to help your Clan or that your apprentices are keeping the elders and queens fed. You have to be a responsible queen and make sure your kits are well fed and understand the warrior code. You have to be a responsible deputy and make sure all the borders are patrolled, the food hunted, and that no one cat ends up on too many patrols during the day, which requires keeping track of everyone's name and patrol. The leader is responsible for making sure that the Clan doesn't go to war over dumb things, and must have a good head on her shoulders when it comes to judging situations. Just, really, any part of Clan life has something important to it. (6) I didn't want to make her the name of her OC because that would be TOO predictable. Also, Foxfire is out because that insinuates that Bluestar believes she is a part of the "Only fire can save the Clan" prophecy and... you'll understand why she wouldn't think that in a few chapters. I talk about it a bit in this chapter.  
**

* * *

 **THUNDERCLAN  
**

 **Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes  
\- Apprentice, Firepaw

 **Deputy  
** Tigerclaw - dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes and black stripes

 **Medicine Cat**  
Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes.

 **Warriors**  
Whitestorm - short-haired white tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Graypaw  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes  
Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat with green eyes  
Brownfoot - silvered brown tabby tom with blue eyes, also known as Runningwind,  
\- Apprentice, Swiftpaw  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes, and with green eyes  
\- Apprentice, Brightpaw  
Dustpelt - dusky dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Sandstorm - pale tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side and yellow eyes  
Foxface - long-haired black she-cat with white throat, underbelly, paws and chin, bright red underfur and sun-gold eyes  
Ravenfeather - black tom with white chest spot, white tail-tip, white paws and amber eyes

 **Apprentices**  
Graypaw - silvered long-haired black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back, mistakenly called gray tom  
Firepaw - fiery red tabby tom with dark green eyes.  
Swiftpaw - black and white tom with amber eyes  
Brightpaw - mostly white she-cat with ginger patches and one black spot on her forehead

 **Queens**  
Frostfur - white she-cat with blue eyes  
Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat with pale blue eyes  
Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Kits**  
Brindleface: Cinderkit (gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat), Thornkit (gray tabby tom), and Brackenkit (pale brown tabby tom). Five moons old.  
Frostfur: Mistlekit (white she-cat). Two moons old.  
Goldenflower: None

 **Elders** :  
Rosetail - mostly white she-cat with a cream colored tail  
Smallear - old gray tom with small ears  
Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes  
Dappletail - old pale gray-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat  
One-eye - old very pale gray almost white she-cat with one yellow eye and who is virtually blind and deaf  
Halftail - old massive dark brown tabby tom with patchy fur and yellow eyes, and with half his tail missing

 **...**

 **SHADOWCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Nightstar - frail, thin short-fur black tom.

 **Deputy**  
Cinderfur - thin gray tom with spotted tabby markings

 **Medicine Cat**  
Birdnose - small gray-and-white tom, also known as Runningnose  
\- Apprentice, Littlecloud

 **Warriors**  
Wolfstep - dark gray tabby tom with white paws, tailtip, green eyes and a torn ear  
\- Apprentice, Applepaw  
Flintfang - dark gray tabby tom with thick fur with yellow eyes  
Newtspeck - brown-and-red tabby tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes  
Deerfoot - dark brown tom with dark brown spots and yellow eyes  
Fernshade - dark gray-and-ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Whitepaw  
Ratscar - scarred young dark brown tom  
\- Apprentice, Brownpaw  
Snowbird - young white she-cat  
\- Apprentice, Wetpaw

 **Apprentice**  
Littlecloud - thin brown tabby tom  
Whitepaw - mostly black tom with white paws, underbelly, tail-tip and throat  
Brownpaw - dark brown tabby tom  
Wetpaw - spotted gray tabby tom  
Applepaw - light brown she-cat with spotted tabby markings

 **Queens**  
Dawncloud - small pale ginger tabby she-cat  
Darkflower - (pregnant) black she-cat  
Tallpoppy - long-legged black tabby she-cat

 **Elders**  
Nettlespot - orange-and-white tabby she-cat  
Nutwhisker - brown tom with orange eyes.

...

 **RIVERCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Crookedstar - dark gray tabby tom with a crooked jaw

 **Deputy**  
Leopardfur - light golden-brown spotted tabby she-cat and dark amber eyes

 **Medicine Cat**  
Mudfur - old long-haired light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Warriors**  
Skyheart - brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes.  
Blackclaw - smokey black tom with green eyes  
Dawnbright - dark ginger-and-gray tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
\- Apprentice, Mosspaw  
Mallowtail - red-and-black tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
\- Apprentice, Heavypaw  
Stonefur - blue-gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Shadepaw  
Bearpelt - dark brown tom with amber eyes, aka Loudbelly  
\- Apprentice, Silverpaw  
Whiteclaw - black tom with white legs and underbelly

 **Apprentices**  
Heavypaw - light brown tabby tom with green eyes  
Shadepaw - smokey black she-cat  
Silverpaw - slender silvered black she-cat with blue eyes  
Mosspaw - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Queens**  
Mistyfoot - blue-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes

 **Kits  
** Mistyfoot: Reedkit, Primrosekit, Pikekit, Perchkit

 **Elders**  
Graypool - dark gray she-cat with pale blue eyes

...

 **SHADOWCLAN ROGUES**

Brokenstar - scarred, patchy and ragged dark brown tabby tom.  
Blackfoot - black tom with large white paws.  
Tangleburr - gray-and-brown she-cat  
Stumpytail - brown tabby tom.  
Boulder - silver tabby tom.  
Russetfur - dark ginger she-cat  
Rowanberry - brown-and-cream she-cat  
Frogtail - dark grey tom with darker spots

* * *

The full moon shown down brightly on the Great Rock as ThunderClan crested the rise and looked down upon the clearing. RiverClan was already pouring into the clearing, the massive fisher cats spreading out around the Great Rock and flopping down like giant kittypets. A few seconds later, Bluestar waved her tail and ThunderClan joined them, spreading out on their side of the clearing and waiting eagerly for ShadowClan to show so the Gathering could start.

The two oldest ThunderClan apprentices padded over to the RiverClan apprentices, with the young gray tom leading the way. His companion, a fiery tabby, lifted his head in the hopes of looking over the shoulders of his fellow cats, looking for someone. He was surprised and disappointed not to see them, and quietly settled down beside the gray tom, who was engaging a silver she-cat in conversation. A cry went up, silencing the multitude of cats as heads turned towards the ShadowClan border.

The dark, ragged and broad shapes of ShadowClan cats descended into the clearing, the familiar thin, black form of Nightpelt rapidly heading towards Great Rock. He looked like he was a rabbit shooting out of its hole, and he leaped gracefully up to the top of the Great Rock. Firepaw wondered if Nightpelt had yet received his leader name. The ginger tabby looked around again, once again wondering where the other cat had gone.

It had been two days after Ravenfeather's and Foxface's warrior ceremony and the massive she-cat had pretty much made herself scarce since. Ravenfeather had been left back at camp to guard it, and Firepaw suspected that Bluestar only wanted to bring Foxface to the Gathering merely to show her off to the other Clans. He still couldn't understand why Bluestar had named her Foxface, of all things, and felt sympathy for Foxface.

He recalled the warrior ceremony; he had been standing near the entrance and hadn't been able to see Foxface's... face when Bluestar announced her name, but he had been able to see Sandstorm's and was shocked to see her expression shift quickly from recognition to guilt to sympathy. Did Sandstorm influence Bluestar's naming choice somehow?

He finally spotted the black and white she-cat, her long black fur having long ago turned red around her shoulders and tail. The young warrior was obviously much older than the other younger warriors, standing as tall as Tigerclaw. She had a broad body, broad shoulders, chest and head, and she stood out from the smaller ThunderClan cats in the same way that the massive deputy did. She had positioned herself near the back and close to ShadowClan and was speaking with a ShadowClan cat Firepaw didn't recognize. Foxface's had adopted a soft, motherly smile and she was gazing warmly at the cat, making Firepaw wonder if they had met before. The cat didn't look like Dawncloud or Cinderfur or any other ShadowClan cat Firepaw recognized. It was an older brown cat with orange eyes.

The leader of ShadowClan yowled loudly for silence, and the Gathering began. Nightpelt stepped forward first. "Cats of all Clans! It is with great pleasure that I bring you this news! Brokenstar has been rejected by StarClan and has been driven out of ShadowClan." He looked around at the murmuring cats. "StarClan sent a sign to our medicine cat, making me the new leader of ShadowClan. I have been to the Moonstone and received my nine lives."

Many yowls greeted this announcement and Firepaw watched Nightpelt - Nightstar, he corrected himself - look at Bluestar. The blue-gray queen watched the crowd and waited for the yowls to die down before speaking herself.

"ThunderClan has been aware of Brokenstar's disappearance for a while," she announced firmly. "A ThunderClan battle patrol had been on their way to ShadowClan the very day that Brokenstar was banished. We are glad to hear that Brokenstar has been rejected by StarClan and we welcome the new leader and the glad tidings you bring."

"And why would a ThunderClan battle patrol want to attack ShadowClan?" asked Crookedstar, smoothly inserting himself into their joint announcement.

Nightstar and Bluestar shared a glance before Nightstar spoke. "Under the guidance of our former leader, a ShadowClan warrior was sent in secret to kidnap a kit from ThunderClan. The attempt cost him his life."

"I see," meowed Crookedstar. "Surely Brokenstar was as evil as you say, if he was willing to steal kits from other Clans. It is good news for us all that he is banished."

"Yes," meowed Bluestar, "it was, sadly, something we had come to expect from him. After all, when Brokenstar exiled WindClan, he more than likely caused some of their kits to suffer as well."

The subtle jab at Crookedstar made the older tom narrow his eyes. "And what of WindClan's territory now that they are gone?"

"ShadowClan has thought long and hard about what we are to do with that territory," meowed Nightstar, looking out over the Clans. "We have decided that the actions of the old ShadowClan will not be the actions of the new ShadowClan. We have decided that they should be returned to their moor lands. We will be sending one warrior to fetch them at moonhigh tomorrow."

A great uproar from RiverClan made Firepaw wince and flatten his ears. Many RiverClan cats complained about how they needed the prey rich fields of the moor, so much so that Firepaw couldn't distinguish any of the voices. Firepaw flashed a look at Graypaw, who was rapidly exchanging words with the RiverClan apprentice.

Crookedstar bristled. "RiverClan is not happy about this."

"We heard," meowed Nightstar, with a wry look at the unhappy Clan.

"What of ThunderClan?" Crookedstar demanded.

Bluestar lifted her head. "ThunderClan has never needed to hunt on the moor for prey. Our territory is rich with freshkill."

"You just don't have enough warriors to hunt it is all," hissed a RiverClan tom, his gaze landing on Firepaw.

"Well!" meowed Foxface, her voice sounding loud as it came from the quiet side of the clearing. "It looks like you could use more warriors if you can't catch enough fish!"

Firepaw bristled as the RiverClan tom snarled and glanced with wide eyes at Foxface. Was she trying to start a fight?

"Be quiet!" meowed Bluestar, and Firepaw noted with surprise that the queen was looking at Foxface. A sudden uneasy sensation filled him from paw to nose. Did Bluestar not like Foxface? Was that why she had named the ex-rogue so?

Foxface recovered from her shock quickly, shooting a dark look up at the queen. Firepaw's unease suddenly became worse. Did Bluestar know something about Foxface that Firepaw didn't? Foxface was silent, glaring up at Bluestar. Firepaw turned his head towards Bluestar and saw Tigerclaw staring at Foxface with an unreadable expression. Firepaw felt like someone had stolen his breath away.

"Are there problems in RiverClan that we need to address, Crookedstar?" challenged Nightstar, amber eyes flashing.

Crookedstar bristled. "This is nothing in RiverClan that we cannot handle ourselves. Though RiverClan would like to ask ShadowClan why they would so willingly give away free prey."

"ShadowClan does not need the prey on the moor," meowed Nightstar. "It is a waste of our time and resources to try and hunt prey that we are not used to hunting."

"ThunderClan," meowed Bluestar, "will send one warrior with ShadowClan's to fetch WindClan."

Crookedstar looked between Bluestar and Nightstar, sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Very well. RiverClan will send one warrior to fetch WindClan."

A ripple of excitement ran down Firepaw's fur and he looked at Graypaw, but his friend looked unhappy about the entire thing. Wondering why, Firepaw looked up at the three leaders.

"If there are no further announcements," meowed Crookedstar.

"There are," meowed Bluestar, looking down at the cats below. "One moon ago, a quarter moon before our last Gathering, my Clan accepted two rogues into our fold. One of them was ShadowClan's former medicine cat. I have asked her to become our own medicine cat, since Spottedleaf's death. She has agreed."

Bluestar looked at Nightstar who simply stepped up to the rock and looked down at the medicine cats below. "Yellowfang?"

"It is true, Nightstar," rasped the old she-cat. Firepaw couldn't help the warmth from sparking in his chest at her.

"The other," continued Bluestar, "told us something interesting about the ancestry of herself and our apprentice, Firepaw. It seems that Firepaw indeed has ThunderClan blood and the rogue has Clan ancestry. Since she learned of the warrior code and most of her skills from her father and mother, we only needed to teach her the basics of battle skills. She fought a fox and defeated it with the help of Ravenfeather, and we honor her courage and strength as a warrior of ThunderClan. She is Foxface, and she was made a warrior alongside Ravenfeather."

A murmur rippled through the Clans. Some cats meowed Ravenfeather's name, but quietly became quiet when they realized that the black tom was not present. Cats looked around for the cat named Foxface and Firepaw couldn't help but look himself. Foxface's expression was unreadable and her eyes were dark, but she held her head high. Firepaw was reminded of Tigerclaw and couldn't stop the shiver going up his spine.

"She doesn't look like a rogue," meowed the silvered RiverClan apprentice. She blinked at the big she-cat. "She almost looks RiverClan."

"She _looks_ like ThunderClan," hissed Dustpelt and Firepaw was surprised to see the dark brown tom so far from Foxface. The two had been nearly inseparable after she had been made a warrior.

"She looks a bit like ShadowClan to me," meowed another cat.

"Doesn't her head remind you of WindClan?"

"I've never seen paws like those before. She can't be from any of the Clans."

Firepaw blinked in shock. Did Foxface really look so much like all the Clans? No wonder ThunderClan had been more accepting of her than him. Then he realized with a start; she had _always_ acted like she was a part of the Clan, even when she was but a rogue. Firepaw was still trying to understand all of their customs. _No wonder they had been more accepting of her. I look like a kittypet!_

"Is there anymore news?" meowed Nightstar.

"Yes," meowed Crookedstar stiffly. "RiverClan has been hunting well on WindClan territory. All the Clans know that the river is sometimes poisoned by twolegs. We are forced to hunt farther and farther from our camp and a sickness always follows." He gazed steadily at Bluestar. "If ThunderClan has such prey rich territory, then RiverClan demands more territory around the Sunningrocks."

Harsh yowls greeted this statement. Bluestar rose to her paws and lashed her tail, commanding silence.

"ThunderClan agrees to give you a small portion of land around Sunningrocks," she meowed, staring at Crookedstar without any fear. "The territory there is prey poor by our standards and we hope they you can get more out of it than we ever could."

Firepaw clawed the ground. He didn't like the idea of giving territory over to RiverClan. Could he still trust his mentor's judgement after how she gave Foxface her warrior name?

"If there is no other news," meowed Crookedstar with a snort. "Then this Gathering is over."

With a might leap, the RiverClan leader rejoined his Clanmates and quickly ascended the slope into RiverClan territory. The ThunderClan cats started to gather together in preparation to leave. Firepaw was surprised when Foxface practically sought him out.

"We need to convince Bluestar to send Ravenfeather to fetch WindClan," she meowed to him. "He's safest when he's far away from ThunderClan."

"What if he gets injured on the journey?" meowed Firepaw, surprised that the she-cat would say that.

"He won't," Foxface meowed firmly. "He can handle it."

Firepaw wasn't so sure but before he could say anything, Tigerclaw stepped between them.

"Foxface," he meowed, his voice smooth as he gave Firepaw a look. "We need to talk."

Foxface looked conflicted but eventually nodded. "You're the deputy," she meowed.

Firepaw watched the two of them walk away with worry creasing his brow. What did Tigerclaw want with Foxface?

"Hey, Firepaw!" meowed Graypaw, bumping his shoulder. "What's with all the faces?"

Firepaw hesitated and glanced at Tigerclaw. Graypaw guessed at his thoughts.

"You think Tigerclaw's going to try and kill Foxface now?" he asked, an edge to his tone.

Firepaw was shocked at the suggestion. "You think he might?"

Graypaw erupted into a purr. "Of course not. I thought you would."

Firepaw considered it for a moment but shook his head. "I think Foxface can handle herself if he tried."

"You're pretty confident she can handle herself," meowed Graypaw, "but Tigerclaw fought a fox all on his own and Foxface needed the help of Ravenfeather and Tigerclaw to beat theirs."

Firepaw was surprised. "He fought a fox?"

"Yeah," meowed Graypaw. "You remember when Foxface fought that fox with Ravenfeather? Tigerclaw ran into that same fox earlier that day. I heard it from Goldenflower. She said he chased it off but it accidentally went in the direction of the two apprentices. He was surprised they survived, with her being a soft-hearted rogue and Ravenfeather being... well, Ravenfeather."

Firepaw felt the fur on his spine prickle. "I think I need to talk with Ravenfeather," he meowed at last. He hesitated. "And Foxface."

"Foxface," meowed Graypaw with a snarl. "Every time I hear a cat say that name, it makes my lips curl. What was Bluestar thinking? Foxface is just... the worst possible warrior name. Ever. Of all time. She _deserves_ better. Maybe Foxtail? Foxwhisker? What do you think?"

Firepaw shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe Bluestar had a good reason for it."

"I doubt it!" meowed Graypaw, but then let out a purr. "At least Bluestar didn't name her Foxdung. That would have been _really_ mean."

Firepaw couldn't help a relieved purr and relax. "Yeah."

"Hey," meowed Graypaw, suddenly, as if a thought occurred to him. "Do you ever get the feeling that Bluestar doesn't like Foxface?"

"What?" Firepaw meowed, shocked. "Everyone likes Foxface." A spark of jealous was quickly pushed aside. "She's an ideal warrior."

"Well, yeah, but..." Graypaw struggled to form words. "Well, ever since her warrior ceremony, it's been bothering me. The way Bluestar looks at her... like she's disappointed or something. You ever notice that?"

Firepaw flattened his ears and looked away in discomfort. "Why would Bluestar be disappointed in her?"

Graypaw shrugged. "Who knows? Bluestar just... is, I guess. But the Clan seems to like her."

"I noticed," Firepaw practically snapped, then he sighed. "We should get some rest. We might have patrol tomorrow."

Graypaw snorted. "We _always_ have patrol tomorrow. I don't remember a day without it."

Firepaw purred, glad to have his friend beside him.

* * *

 **A/N: I think the greatest irony with her name is if she had remained Bark, become Barkpaw, she'd be another Barkface. LOL. xD**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**


	14. Fire and Ice pt 2

**A/N: Hello, everyone! A big thank you to those who reviewed! Out of curiosity, what do you guys think of Foxthistle? Anyway, the poll is up!  
**

 **Thank you, Fala, for your review! I like Foxfur, too, but I'm not sure Bluestar would name her after herself or her sister.  
**

 **Thank you, Fakira! Yeah, definitely. Graypaw has hit the nail on the head here and it's going to cause some delicious conflict between Fox and the rest. Oh, I wanted to ask you. You wanted a MistyfurXFireheart pairing for _Oneshots_? Do you mean Mistyfoot/star?  
**

 **Thank you, Guest, for your review! _Exactly!_ I loved that tiny aspect of her character when she decided to declare war on StarClan and I always felt like it should have been introduced a bit better before hand. If she doesn't like you, she names you bad things and everyone suffers. That includes cats that she didn't meet and approve of before they joined the Clans. Bluestar is upset. xD**

 **Thank you, AnonChan1! Ah, that's true about the leadership thing. She does need to start thinking about it if she accidentally does become leader... but she's pretty confident StarClan won't let her so we'll see. And for the catpower thing, yeah pretty much. It's all about the Clan and if you don't like a cat in the Clan then he's merely one more good fighter that was lost. So sad. (A) Good! I was hoping it did! I wanted to add the kits because they're important to the Clan. (B) Big, lazy kittypets. They flop down anywhere. xD (C) Teehee. Revealed in next chapter, perhaps? (D) Revealed in next chapter! :) (E) lol. (F) Firepaw's starting to trust Foxface less or Bluestar less? xD Pronouns are hard! And yes, we are fighting getting to the true divergence of the fic. (G) That is true, but I think Firepaw is slowly figuring out what makes him and Foxface different.  
**

* * *

The walk back from the Gathering felt strangely tiring. Foxface had been worrying about the Gathering since she had woken up that morning and now that everything was done with, she just felt tired. She didn't like the fact that everyone in all the Clans now knew she existed and that she was named Foxface, but that didn't compare to the relief she had felt when Nutwhisker shrugged off her name.

"We once had a warrior named Foxheart," the elder had said, a gleam in his orange eyes. "She was feisty, and a good deputy. Her name didn't mean anything to her and neither did it to us."

"That's good," meowed the fox-colored she-cat. "But what about a name change? Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"Well..." she remembered him mewing. "Not exactly, no. You know of Runningwind, Runningnose and Loudbelly, yes?"

"Loudbelly? He's RiverClan, right?"

"Yes. They all use names other than their real warrior names. Runningwind used to be called Brownfoot, Loudbelly used to be called Bearpelt, and Runningnose used to be called Birdnose. I believe it was around the same time that they had their name change. Birdnose's name was changed first by Brokenstar of all cats. Every other cat sort of adopted it."

"Why did they get those names?" Her tail twitched curiously.

The old tom had narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Bearpelt would always complain whenever he was hungry. He ate a lot more than was his fair share and RiverClan grew tired of it. Eventually, they just started calling him Loudbelly. The name stuck. Brownfoot was another story. I believe every cat would tease him because he looked like a WindClan tom instead of a ThunderClan cat. He was proud of the skills WindClan had donated to ThunderClan so he started calling himself Runningwind. He had a specific phrase he would always use... hmm, what was it?"

"Faster than the running wind," meowed Foxface with an amused smile.

"That's the one." Nutwhisker had blinked. "Or, you can earn a new name the same way Ratscar did. He fought a horde of rats alongside Brokenstar and earned himself all those scars. At the time, Brokenstar was Brokentail and his father was the leader of the Clan. Raggedstar renamed him Ratscar, and we all forgot his old name." The brown tom had glanced around secretively and whispered. "It was Tinywhisker."

Foxface couldn't help the amused purr at the memory, relieved and hopeful. She had no intention of remaining Foxface forever and there had been nothing but good news from the Gathering. Up until Tigerclaw interrupted her quick message to Firepaw. They traveled together the rest of the way to camp, her purposefully long strides and his quick steps helping them stay in sink despite minor differences in sizes. When she spoke to him, she strained to be polite.

"I have noticed that you do not approve of the name Bluestar has given you," meowed Tigerclaw, his lips curling slightly.

Foxface was glad he hadn't called her by her new name. "Bluestar does not like me, does she?" she meowed. "I have a feeling that the only reason I am a Clan cat at all is because the Clan liked me and she did not want them to see her in a bad light."

"It would seem that way," meowed Tigerclaw.

Foxface glanced at him, half expecting him to spout into a spiel about how Bluestar was doing it for her good but Tigerclaw predictably said nothing. "I think she enjoys saying my name a bit too much. If I tried to have the Clan call me a different name, like Runningwind, I would not be surprised if she simply called me by the name she gave me." Foxface had not minded the name, initially. She could appreciate the irony. She just could not imagine being called that for the rest of her life, especially when some cats in the Clans were already adding a lilt or sneer whenever they said it. It was an insult, pure and simple, and despite the maturity of some cats others would most certainly take advantage of it.

"So, you would be interested in a name change?" meowed Tigerclaw.

"Of course," meowed Foxface.

"What if I could tell you I can help you change your name?"

Foxface paused in her steps but quickly caught up to him. "You would advocate for me?"

Tigerclaw dipped his head to the side slightly. "Of course. I would not wish to have such an insulting warrior name. It is only natural for a strong warrior to wish for a strong name."

Foxface felt her fur prickle. "What is the catch?"

He blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"You are looking for a favor," meowed Foxface bluntly. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours, kind of a deal."

Tigerclaw flicked an ear thoughtfully. "Is that a rogue saying?"

"Yes, actually. A very common one."

"Then I suppose it does apply. I am no expert, of course."

"Of... course."

"I will see what I can do," meowed Tigerclaw, a glint in his eye. "Unless you would prefer your name as it is."

Foxface considered this. If Tigerclaw really could help with her name change, that would be a loud off her shoulders. On the other paw, it would only lead to some future problem. She was reminded of Ivypool and decided to go along with it. "I would be grateful to you if you could pull that off, Tigerclaw. Might I suggest a name or am I left to guess at what other horrific name Bluestar might pick for me?"

"I am afraid I do not have that kind of control over your name," meowed Tigerclaw, looking almost apologetic, "but I will inform her of some suggestions."

"Thank you," she meowed, feeling like she was going to regret it later. She pushed that thought aside. "I have only two suggestions. You see, my mother's name was Shadowfall, so I thought Foxshadow might be a good idea. I was also thinking Foxpelt because of my coat." It felt like she was writing her own fanfiction and she couldn't help but feel excited.

Tigerclaw nodded, suddenly curious. "That sounds like a Clan name. Was your mother Clanborn?"

"No, but her mother was. She was accepted in my father's Clan and given her warrior name when she was pretty young." Foxface was glad that she had created her OC's backstory before all of this happened. Now, it only took a few modifications to make her fit in her OC's place. "My father was Thunderbird. He tried to restart our Clan with what few customs we could remember from being passed down, but naturally we failed."

"Sounds like he was a ThunderClan cat," Tigerclaw meowed quietly.

"His parents might have known he had ThunderClan ancestry and named him after the Clan." Foxface flashed him a grin. "Perhaps that's why I find it so easy to get along with y'all."

Tigerclaw's whiskers twitched. "Perhaps that is how your father knew that Pinestar was a ThunderClan cat."

Foxface looked thoughtful. "Perhaps." _I'm glad you put that together instead of me having to spell it out_ , she thought, feeling relieved. "I should probably get some rest. Do you want me to do a border patrol tomorrow or should I hunt?"

Tigerclaw blinked. "With RiverClan practically declaring war on us, I would prefer it if you were on a border patrol."

Foxface nodded. "I'll claw up any RiverClan cat who steps over the border," she promised with a snarl. "Those fishbreath need to learn the taste of _real_ sharp claws."

Tigerclaw quirked an eye brow. "I am sure ThunderClan are in safe paws."

Foxface tried not to bristle at the disbelief in his voice and padded away to seek out Dustpelt with a final wave of her tail. The dusky dark brown tabby tom blinked at her when she touched his shoulder. She meowed a greeting.

"So, what did you learn from ShadowClan?" meowed Dustpelt. "Did they mention anything about the rogues?"

Foxface paused, trying to remember the full conversation. She felt like they had barely talked about anything other than naming ceremonies and changes. "Sorry, I was too busy asking if they knew about a name changing ceremony."

Dustpelt shrugged it off. "You could always change your name like Runningwind did."

"I want a official solution," meowed Foxface, with a faint hiss. "Not an unofficial one."

Dustpelt grimaced. "It's not that bad of a name, is it?"

Foxface gave him a deadpanned look and padded towards the warrior's den. After a heartbeat, she heard Dustpelt rush to follow.

"I don't think it's that bad," meowed Dustpelt. "I mean, you could have been named Foxdirt instead."

"That honestly doesn't make me feel better," she meowed, sinking into her nest.

Dustpelt flattened his ears and curled up beside her. "You're one of the strongest, bravest cats in ThunderClan. No cat doubts it and your name isn't going to change that."

Foxface flicked her ears at him. "That's sweet of you to say," she said with a small smile. "Thanks."

Dustpelt purred. "I've never heard of a leader being driven from the Clan. Brokenstar must have been a terrible leader."

 _He was,_ she thought, and nodded in agreement. She studied Dustpelt carefully. "I feel sorry for some of the cats that were chased out. I'm sure not all of them were truly terrible cats."

"Yeah," he agreed, relaxing, with a glance around. "But that isn't our problem. Let's get some sleep. We might have patrol tomorrow."

Foxface purred. "If there are patrols tomorrow, you can bet we all will be on one."

* * *

The warrior's den did well to block out the noise of the wind through the trees but Foxface found herself tuning into that noise like a lifeline. The memory of the fan that always drowned out noise in her room made her remember her family and the comforts of home. She was torn between wanting to go back and wanting to stay in ThunderClan... if she even could go back.

When she blinked open her eyes, it was nearly dawn. She recognized the dark brown pelt of Mousefur as she rose to her paws and padded out of the den. After a few heartbeats, she saw Ravenfeather rise to his paws. The tom was nervous and glanced over in her direction, but relaxed when he saw her blinking at him. She rose to her paws, feeling tired (which she quickly blamed on her cat body), and padded over to him.

"Tigerclaw?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "He told us last night to prepare for dawn patrol. Just me, Longtail and Mousefur."

Foxface flicked an ear at him and looked around for Tigerclaw's sleeping form. When she didn't spot him, she sighed and padded out of the den ahead of Ravenfeather. She spotted the dark warrior sitting beneath the highrock, obviously wide awake. She looked at Ravenfeather. "I'll keep an eye on him. You make sure Longtail keeps his mouth shut. If he challenges your honor, claw his muzzle off."

Ravenfeather blinked at the suggestion, looking decidedly uncomfortable with it, before he bounded out of the warrior's den and towards the camp entrance. Tigerclaw looked at him but glanced at Foxface and seemed to think better of it. The fox-colored she-cat padded over to the freshkill pile and noted that the prey was running low. She sniffed at the pile, seeking out the rotting crowfood to bury in the dirtplace. No point in letting a maggot-filled squirrel find it's way into the mouth of a fellow Clan cat.

When she had finished fishing the three rotten corpses out of the freshkill and left a few others to air out, she buried them in the dirtplace. When she returned, she was surprised that see Tigerclaw hadn't moved from his spot. Curious, she padded over to the dark tabby.

"Tigerclaw," she meowed. "Can we talk?"

The dark warrior's amber eyes glanced at her and he paused in licking his paw. "Of course," he meowed politely.

"Pinestar was your father," she meowed. "Wasn't he?"

"Yes."

"Did he still have any of his nine lives when he left?"

The dark warrior put his paw down heavily, eyes narrowed. "I don't know."

Foxface frowned. "You don't know?"

"I think he had one life left," meowed Tigerclaw. "That was what he said when he left."

"How long did the next leader live?"

Tigerclaw blinked. "A few seasons."

"Hmmm," meowed Foxface, struggling on how to incorporate this into her narrative. "I've always believed that the lives granted by StarClan should be used to defend the Clan, not used for one's own personal survival. When Pinestar said he had been leader of the Clan, my parents were skeptical of him. Thunderbird didn't like him that much after he said it. 'No leader should leave behind the responsibility of taking care of the Clan,' my father said. Makes me wonder if Pinestar would be accepted into StarClan after what he had done."

Foxface liked to think that he had been banished from StarClan. A parent should never have abandoned his only surviving son, especially when he knew there was some darkness lying over his head. _Goosefeather was always right_ , she thought to herself. _But because he never tried to appear decent, everyone thought he was mad. It didn't help that StarClan wasn't helping him to translate omens despite him being able to hear and see them around him at all times._ She dug her claws furiously into the ground, remembering how much she hated _Bluestar's Prophecy_ and _Pinestar's Choice_.

"I wanted to ask if what you said about Firepaw is true," meowed Tigerclaw carefully, his eyes locked on Foxface as he licked his paws.

She blinked at him. "What did I say about Firepaw?"

"That he's Pinestar's grandson," meowed Tigerclaw, tail-tip flickering.

"Ah, that," she meowed, wondering if it had been a good idea to tell them that if she might sometimes forget she had said it. She shook herself. "Pinestar's daughter was Nutmeg and his grandson was Rusty. Jake might have also been of Clan descent, which could explain why the blood is so strong in Firepaw."

"Are you _sure_ Pinestar is his grandfather?"

"I saw them as kits myself. I met Nutmeg and her parents. He was Pine at the time and he was mate to some brown and white she-cat whose name I can't bother to remember."

Tigerclaw nodded. "Anything else?" There was an edge of desperation in his mew.

 _Is he going to quiz me on this every single time we talk?_ she wondered, suddenly leery of him. "Why does it matter?" she asked, trying to shrug it off despite the sudden nervousness in her belly.

Tigerclaw's long claws dug into the ground.

"He's your nephew," she meowed in confirmation before suddenly wishing she could unsay it. She rushed to think of something positive to say. "It's not terrible to be related to a kittypet. They usually have long lifespans and that can benefit Clan leaders."

There was a gleam in his eye that made her look away. _What am I doing_? she thought, anxiety prickling in her paws. _Making friends with Tigerclaw?_

She remembered thinking how getting to know Tigerclaw could help her figure out what problems there were in the Clan. _But this is Tigerclaw. Anything that prevents him from becoming a leader is a problem to him. Plus, the real problem with his character was Pinestar and there's a rule in place to fix that now_. _How easily Brokenstar corrupted his Clan is the problem I need to fix and Fireheart won't do that._

The thought of Brokenstar being gone reminded her of her desire to be in ShadowClan. If she could get Tigerclaw banished, maybe she could leave with him and eventually join ShadowClan, revealing his treachery afterwards. She shook her head.

"He's a _kittypet_ ," hissed Tigerclaw. "He doesn't understand the hard life of a warrior or a rogue."

The massive she-cat blinked when he mentioned rogues. It made her strangely uncomfortable. "He has the heart of a ThunderClan cat. The mind of a warrior, despite his soft mew. When I fought him during battle training shortly after I arrived, I sense in him the fire of a fighter. He is Clan cat in spirit if not in birth." She hesitated. "Your father is a prime example of the exact opposite. Even Ravenfeather has the spirit of a loner or rogue about him rather than that of a warrior. One's birth doesn't define them."

"So you say," he meowed, gaze looking over her shoulder. "The dawn patrol will be back soon. Pick whoever you want to bring with you on the sunhigh patrol. I need to speak with Bluestar about your renaming ceremony."

Foxface blinked. "Of course." She looked around and spotted Dustpelt padded hurriedly over to her.

"Dustpelt," she meowed. "How are you?"

His fur looked ruffled and he glanced at Tigerclaw's retreating form. "I'm fine," he meowed firmly.

"You should grab something to eat," she meowed, feeling relieved that he was here. A purr stuck in her throat. "Maybe you can help me figure out who can come on the sunhigh patrol with me."

He nodded and, with a final glance towards the leader's den, rushed over to the freshkill pile.

* * *

 **A/N: I'd like to point out that I personally like Pinestar's Choice, if only because I have no personal dislike for his character, unlike Fox here. I do, however, have some problems with Bluestar's Prophecy, though not for the same reasons that Fox does. She's not _really_ a Self-Insert character in that sense.  
**

 **I spent the whole day fussing over the dawn scene. I used to be waaaay different and I hated it. It was really OOC for Fox and Tigerclaw both. I hope you like it!**

 **The next chapter has already been written. It will probably need some edits before I post it Monday. Hope you guys are looking forward to it! :)**

 **Don't forget to review!  
**


	15. Fire and Ice pt 3

**A/N: Aiyo! Sorry for this chapter being a bit on the late side. I was expecting to post it earlier today but decided that I needed to add some more dialogue.  
**

 **Thank you, lemon! Aw, that's cute! Unfortunately, their relationship is a lot like Tigerclaw and Darkstripe's. Ravenfeather admires her and believes she will protect him, so he feels more confident and comfortable around her. She sees him as a little brother or her kitten. As for all that other stuff, I feel obligated to point out that this is a divergence fic and that stuff might not happen here.**

 **Thank you, Fala! I understand. I'm just thinking about it from Bluestar's point of view. Why would she want to name this cat who reminds her so much of Thistleclaw after herself or her sister? I don't think she would. Foxpelt would probably be what she'd pick if Foxy reminds her of Thrushpelt (who is who Dustpelt was named after).**

 **Thank you, Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan! Oooo, I like how you're thinking that. I honestly originally planned that, but once I wrote that first scene with Dustpaw and Foxpaw in it, I just had to ship them. They are too cute together. Now, that doesn't mean Tigerclaw won't try...**

 **Thank you, Fakira! LOL! I do that sometimes, too. I'm gonna have to read a bit into her personality before I'm ready to write her. Also, I'm trying to give Tigerclaw a more in depth character and a motivation for disliking Bluestar, plus I want to avoid Bluestar falling into a spiral of madness.  
**

 **Thank you, Willowshine of SkyClan! LOL, I had t put that line in. Long time no see! At the moment, she just thinks of him as her first friend. :)**

 **Thank you, AnonChan1! OMG, it's the LOOK! *trembles in terror* And... Oh! Yes and no? Firepaw is certainly questioning her more. (1) If you check the wikia, Nutwhisker is a tom. You're probably thinking their sister, Newtspeck. (2) Bluestar doesn't think she has to be subtle about it! xD (3) Oh yes, the dangerous path... xD (4) Dustpelt... :3 (5) Mostly only Ravenfeather's honor. (6) Yes. (7) Nah. He can trust Tigerclaw. Right? :P  
**

* * *

"Bluestar," meowed Firepaw, as he stepped up to the leader's den, trying to peer through the curtain of lichen, "can I speak with you?"

"Of course, Firepaw. Come in."

The young tom stepped into the den and looked around. Bluestar was curled up in her nest at the back of the den and Tigerclaw was laying down with his back turned towards the entrance. Firepaw suppressed a shiver as he walked up beside the dark warrior and dipped his head towards Bluestar.

"Tigerclaw was just talking to me about Foxface," meowed Bluestar. "Do you think I should change her name?"

Firepaw couldn't help but think of what Graypaw had told him. "Why did you name her that, Bluestar?"

Tigerclaw hissed. "It doesn't matter. Foxface is not a good name for a warrior like her."

Bluestar's tail-tip twitched. "I have noticed that the Clan looks up to her. I was thinking of sending her on the journey to collect WindClan."

"She is a valuable warrior, Bluestar," meowed Tigerclaw. "Her strength and bravery are needed here to defend the camp if Brokenstar ever turned his eye on us."

Bluestar looked at Firepaw and Tigerclaw followed her gaze, scowling. "What do you think, Firepaw?"

Firepaw hesitated. On the one paw, if Ravenfeather left it would solve the problem of him being killed by Tigerclaw, but Firepaw didn't think that Foxface could be trusted despite what Ravenfeather said. But he needed to think of the Clan first, even if that means agreeing with Tigerclaw. "I think that Foxface should stay here."

Bluestar looked momentarily displeased but the look vanished. "I see. Then who would you want me to send?"

"Ravenfeather," meowed Firepaw, glancing at Tigerclaw as if expecting him to object.

"I agree," meowed the dark warrior.

Firepaw blinked in shock, suddenly wishing he could drag the word back into his mouth somehow. The fiery red tom felt like his muscles had turned to ice.

"I suspect," meowed Tigerclaw, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Firepaw, "that Ravenfeather is going to surprise us all and survive whatever perils he will come across on his journey."

Firepaw's mind whirled. If Tigerclaw thought Ravenfeather would survive the journey, why was he sending the tom instead of someone else? Surely if Ravenfeather could survive, so could any other warrior in the Clan? Why not keep him in camp where Tigerclaw could kill him easier? Was Tigerclaw really evil? Firepaw's head started to hurt.

"Then it is agreed," meowed Bluestar with a wave of her tail. "You are dismissed, Tigerclaw."

The dark warrior glanced sharply at Bluestar and Firepaw before rising to his paws and turning to leave. Firepaw felt the tom's warm breath on his face as he left and he couldn't help but shudder.

"Are you going to suggest a name for Foxface?" meowed Bluestar, an edge to her tone.

Firepaw blinked. "No, Bluestar. I just... I just want to know why you thought that Foxface would be a good warrior name for her."

Bluestar's tail-tip twitched and her expression shifted into one of concern. "I think she will destroy the Clans."

Firepaw blinked in shock and surprise. "What?"

The blue-gray queen twitched her tail. "When I went to the Moonstone back when Dustpelt and Sandstorm were just apprentices, StarClan sent me a vision. My sister, Snowfur, told me that the face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood."

Firepaw felt a cold shiver run down his spine and he stared at Bluestar with wide eyes. "You think Foxface is this face of darkness?"

Bluestar nodded slowly. "That is why I named her Foxface, after the face of darkness. I am disappointed that such an impressive warrior should lead the Clans into darkness, but I could not just let her leave and I cannot banish her when she has committed no crime. She impresses me, Firepaw. She is a warrior that is almost as good as Thistleclaw, but unlike him her heart is in the right place. I cannot imagine how she could destroy the Clans, and I couldn't just reject her after letting you in. The Clan likes her." She stared at her paws.

"What if Foxface wasn't what the prophecy is talking about?" meowed Firepaw, unnerved that any cat should be named after a prophecy. Didn't that mean they were being forced to follow that destiny whether it was actually there's in the first place? Firepaw shook himself. He didn't understand enough about prophecies to say anything about it. "What if it could be referring to another cat? Like Tigerclaw or Brokenstar?"

"Tigerclaw?" meowed Bluestar, amused. "You think it could be Tigerclaw?"

Firepaw shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, Bluestar, that it could be anyone."

"Yes," meowed Bluestar, sounding thoughtful, "that is true. Perhaps I rushed to judgement."

Firepaw nodded, but uneasy filled him. Foxface might not be the one the prophecy talked about but that didn't mean she wasn't working with Tigerclaw. But then... who could the prophecy be referring to?

"After I am sure she is not a part of the prophecy," meowed Bluestar, "I will consider changing her name. In the mean time, I'm sure you will want to wish Ravenfeather good-bye before he leaves tonight."

Firepaw started. "Of course, Bluestar."

The young tom quickly padded out of the den, his paws taking him to the prisoner's den. Ravenfeather, as predicted, was at the back of the den, hiding from Tigerclaw.

"Hello, Firepaw," meowed Ravenfeather, looking relieved. "What's up?"

"It's a long story," meowed Firepaw as he began to relay what happened.

"Foxface wants me to go, too?" meowed Ravenfeather, strangely calm with his head resting on his paws.

"So did Tigerclaw," meowed Firepaw, feeling uncomfortable. "Shouldn't you be feeling nervous about this?"

"I don't know," meowed Ravenfeather. "Ever since we drove out Brokenstar and I went to the Moonstone, I've been feeling like I should be somewhere else. Maybe this is what this feeling has been telling me. I should be out there trying to find WindClan."

Firepaw wrapped his tails around his paws, hugging himself. "I don't know if Foxface can still be trusted. She's been hanging out with Tigerclaw."

Ravenfeather shifted uncomfortably, ears twitching nervously. "Tigerclaw is the deputy. She can't refuse him if he requests being around her." He stared at his paws.

"You think you will be safer if you leave, don't you?" meowed Firepaw.

"If Foxface says so, then I believe it, I guess."

"And if she's wrong?"

"I don't think she is," the black tom meowed defensively. "Once she gets back from the sunhigh patrol, I'll tell her that I'm going."

Realizing there was no point in arguing, Firepaw sighed. "Okay. I should be getting back to my apprentice's duties."

Ravenfeather nodded. "Have a good day, Firepaw."

"See you tonight, Ravenfeather," responded Firepaw. The black tom nodded and curled up to sleep.

When he padded out into the camp, he went straight for the freshkill pile. A sharp yowl from the other side of camp drew his attention to Sandstorm. She padded over to him, fur fluffed up in a huff.

"You're on our hunting patrol," she meowed. "Graypaw is supposed to come, too. Have you seen him?"

Shaking his head, Firepaw's gaze drifted to behind her where Swiftpaw and Brightpaw were standing. The younger apprentices had been training for over half a moon and were still practicing the basics. Firepaw rose to his paws. "I haven't seen him all day."

Sandstorm scowled. "That lazy furball... fine. We'll leave him behind. Come on, all of you."

Firepaw hesitated, watching Sandstorm disappear out the entrance with Swiftpaw and Brightpaw following. With a shrug, he padded after them.

* * *

It was long after Bluestar made the announcement about who was going to fetch WindClan. As darkness fell over the forest, Firepaw and a small group of cats had gathered outside the camp to bid Ravenfeather farewell.

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you to Fourtrees?" meowed Foxface, glancing at Firepaw as if silently requesting aid. "You can never tell who or what will be in the woods at night."

Ravenfeather shuffled his paws. "I think I'm going to be okay."

Foxface fur fluffed out anxiously. "Still..."

Dustpelt bumped her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Foxface. My brother can handle himself."

Ravenfeather blinked gratefully at Dustpelt, a nervous purr in his throat. "Thank you, Dustpelt."

The dark brown tom hesitated before dipping his head slightly in respect. "No problem," he said awkwardly.

Firepaw glanced at Graypaw, glad that his friend was here to help see Ravenfeather off. He couldn't help but feel like something terrible was going to happen to Ravenfeather on the journey. Foxface seemed to think the same as she kept glancing at the dark forest and the waning fullmoon.

"This is very different from fighting a fox," meowed Foxface, before letting out a frustrated mew. "You have no idea where you will be going."

Ravenfeather shuffled his paws. "You're starting to sound like Robinwing."

Foxface flattened her ears. "I suppose if you can handle it..."

Ravenfeather purred. "I'll be fine."

"I thought you said he could handle it," blurted Firepaw.

Foxface bristled, curling her tail around her paws in a self-hug. "Well, I did but..." She glanced at the forest. "It occurs to me that there could be other dangers out here that none of us could have thought about. Like Brokenstar or... _something new_."

Firepaw didn't like how she said that and looked at Ravenfeather.

"I'll be fine," meowed Ravenfeather, hold his head up with a confidence that Firepaw never knew the nervous tom possessed. The black tom glanced at him. "I was born to do this."

Foxface searched his face and nodded, relaxing. "Okay," she meowed. Dustpelt put a tail on her shoulder.

"I should be going," he meowed. "I'm a little late."

Firepaw padded up to him and touched his nose. "Come back in one piece, okay?"

Ravenfeather nodded, purring. "I promise." He glanced at Graypaw.

"Go get 'em," the gray tom purred.

With a final wave of his tail, Ravenfeather turned and raced up the slope, quickly disappearing into the forest. They watched him leave, until Graypaw stretched and rose to his paws.

"We should all get some sleep. Who knows what patrols we'll be doing tomorrow?" he glanced meaningfully at Firepaw and padded away to the apprentice's den.

Firepaw spared one backwards glance before following him. They rushed to their nest and curled up to sleep. As Firepaw buried his nose into light gray fur, the faintest hint of fish made him suddenly lift his head. He blinked at Graypaw in confusion before shrugging and curling up deeper into a ball.

It felt like they had barely settled down before a sharp yowl startled him awake. He was rushing out of the apprentice's den before he could even tell if it was day or night, his fur bristling in shock and horror. Ravenfeather was standing in the middle of camp, his fur on end as he yowled. A blur of black and white fur barreled out of the warrior's den and halted a foxlength away from Ravenfeather, Foxface's whiskers twitching and teeth bared in preparation for a fight. She calmed down when she saw that Ravenfeather was unharmed.

"What is going on?" snarled Tigerclaw, his amber eyes flashing when they landed on Ravenfeather. "Shouldn't you be in WindClan territory by now?"

Bluestar emerged from her den, tail twitching. Her wide eyes relaxed when they saw the black tom. "Ravenfeather, what is going on?"

The black tom dipped his head. "It's Brokenstar. He and his rogues have taken over WindClan territory."

A ripple of shock spread through the crowd. Firepaw was stunned to see that Foxface wasn't surprised. Could she have known about them being on WindClan territory? Had she been trying to kill Ravenfeather? He shook himself. Foxface had plenty of opportunities to kill Ravenfeather but never took it. He glanced at Foxface again and tried not to shiver at the displeased expression on her face.

"Flintfang thought it would be best if we returned to camp and our leaders speak about this issue tomorrow night," meowed Ravenfeather. "Whiteclaw agreed."

Bluestar dipped her head. "It was wise of him to think so." Her gaze swept the camp, looking for her deputy before she settled on Foxface.

"Predictable," meowed Foxface, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. Her voice was loud and clear over the noise, and the Clan seemed to grow quiet as she spoke. "But we can't let them stop us from bringing WindClan back. If anything, this proves that if WindClan remains away from their territory, we have a huge hole in our defenses."

"But how are we going to drive them out?" meowed Longtail, and Firepaw could smell the fear-scent from the tom even at this distance.

"Are you scared of a few lawless rogues?" snarled Tigerclaw, shoving his face into Longtail's and making him shrink back. Firepaw almost felt sorry for the young warrior. Tigerclaw turned away and padded up beside Foxface. "Something needs to be done to protect that territory from these rogues while WindClan is away."

Bluestar lashed her tail, glancing between the two of them. "And what do you propose?"

Foxface stepped forward so she was a tail-length in front of Tigerclaw. "We need to send the three cats to get WindClan. If we drive out the rogues, it won't mean anything unless WindClan is here to take over the territory and defend it. Otherwise, the rogues will just try to take it over again."

A murmur of agreement rose from the Clan. Bluestar's ear twitched. "Tigerclaw?"

The dark warrior looked conflicted. He flattened his ears and sat down, curling his tail over his paws. He sounded almost like he was speaking through gritted teeth. "Foxface is right. I want nothing more than to throw those flea invested rogues out of WindClan territory, but it won't mean anything if WindClan isn't here to defend their territory."

Bluestar had grown very still. "Then _what_ are you proposing?" She stood and raised her tail. "Do you expect us to just sit here and let them stay in WindClan territory?"

Foxface grew quiet, licking a paw thoughtfully and swiping it over one ear. "We cannot let them stay in WindClan territory but I don't think we should do anything until we speak to the other Clan leaders first. Their borders are going to be most affected by the presence of the rogues and they will have first hand accounts of how these rogues behave." She hesitated. "However, whatever we do needs to be done quickly. If the rogues dig their claws in WindClan territory and start having kits, there will be problems when it is time for us to drive them out, especially if the rogues become more vicious in their need to defend their newborn kin. We have to consider all of our options, Bluestar, and we cannot do that without first speaking with the other Clans about this problem."

An uneasy murmur rose from the Clan cats. Firepaw had heard Foxface speak before, especially in defense of Yellowfang, but this was something new. He felt like Foxface had thought of everything and he was in awe of it. He knew with a shiver that everyone else was thinking the same thing. Even Bluestar looked impressed, but her expression turned sad and thoughtful. Firepaw clawed the earth. Surely Bluestar wasn't still thinking that Foxface was the face of darkness?

"Do you agree with this, Tigerclaw?" meowed Bluestar at last.

"Yes, Bluestar," meowed Tigerclaw, and Firepaw could tell that even he was impressed but when he looked at Foxface, there was something darker in his expression that quickly disappeared. He looked at Bluestar. "I think that all the Clan leaders need to talk about this."

She bowed her head. "Very well." She stood to address the camp. "Tomorrow night, Foxface, Willowpelt, Ravenfeather, Firepaw, Whitestorm, and I will journey to Fourtrees to speak with the other Clan leaders about this problem. Tigerclaw and everyone else will remain behind to protect the camp. Now, it is time we all rested."

"Who's on vigil?" meowed Tigerclaw.

"Goldenflower and Willowpelt," meowed a black and white elder.

"Patchpelt, I need you to replace Willowpelt," meowed the dark warrior.

"Yes, Tigerclaw."

As the Clan started returning to their nests, Firepaw couldn't help but suddenly feel uneasy. With the ShadowClan rogues so nearby, Firepaw couldn't help but wonder if the forest was safe anymore. A shiver ran down his pelt as he padded back into the apprentice's den.

* * *

 **A/N: Woohoo! This chapter is done and the plot for Fire and Ice has just begun! Unfortunately, I have nothing written for the next chapter yet but I plan to work on it today and tomorrow, so I will have something ready to post Thursday.**

 **Until then, don't forget to leave a review!**


	16. Fire and Ice pt 4

**A/N: And here is the next chapter! Woohoo! Thanks to all of you guys who reviewed! I've changed the formatting for answering reviews. Hope you don't mind! Also, I hope you two guests can figure out who I'm talking to here. It would really help if you guys had creative names.  
**

 **Guest: It's Thursday! Hope this new chapter is to your liking! :) And I'm sure Bluestar and Firepaw want to figure it out, too.  
**

 **Fala: The only thing I can confirm right now is that I have plans for Firestar's Quest. Hmmm, Ravenfeather is off the menu here because she thinks of him as one of her own kit. He's been adopted. FoxXRaven would be weird. But those other two... heh heh.**

 **Guest ( Ch.12): I did consider Ravenflight! For like two seconds. I didn't want Raven to have Squirrelflight's or Mothflight's suffix. Seemed kind of... weird to me. At least with Ravenfeather, he can be named after Featherwhisker and then have Jayfeather named after him when he becomes... oh, whoops. Don't want to give _that_ away. xD **

**AnonChan1: Lol xD. (A) Aw, thank you! I like writing him. (B) *gasp* Bluestar wants Foxy dead? Now why would she want that to happen? lol. I think... omg, I was just about to ruin the story for you guys. Nope. Can't say anything about that. (C) Firepaw strongly believes in the right thing, but he deliberates a bit too much on things, imo, and that's why he always fails to actually _do_ anything about anything. I'm just using that interpretation of his character. (D) Yes... hopefully. (E) Graypaw: What? I didn't do anything. *innocent eyes* (F) Brokenstar: MWAHAHAHAH! (G) Yeah. For now, though, just think of the ones who have actually shown up in the story. Like Brokenstar, Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, Foxface, Crookedstar, Smudge... etc. xD  
**

 **Fakira: Not meaning to go on a rant here, but I think there's a big difference between Crowfeather X Leafpool and Graystripe X Silverstream. GrayXSilver had one huge thing going against it and that was that they never once realized what they were doing was wrong and they never tried to make up for it. When Silverstream died, Graystripe became fixated on the kits and abandoned ThunderClan for them. He had no redeemable qualities and was a dead weight to both ThunderClan and RiverClan. At least Crowfeather and Leafpool both agreed that they were doing the wrong thing and eventually made amends, and they had good warrior skills. Meanwhile, Graystripe disappeared from the Clans and picked up a third wheel. :/ So, you're love of CrowXLeaf is completely 100% justified imo. xD**

 **Vinejay: You got it exactly right! That really would ruin things, especially if Ravenfeather is convinced he must leave the Clan. Poor Raven. :(**

* * *

It was hard to imagine that two days ago had been Foxface's first Gathering. The patrol padded through the forest towards the four massive oaks where the Gathering was usually held, the light of the waning moon turning the entire world whitish-gray. Foxface was padding next to Bluestar, nervousness making her claws flex.

"Bluestar," she meowed, unsure if the queen would listen to her, "I was wondering what we're going to do about the apprentices? Surely this is a sign that bringing them to the Moonstone is a bad idea, especially after what happened to Darkstripe."

The blue-gray queen glanced at her. "We have always taken the apprentices to the Moonstone before making them into warriors. It strengthens our ties with StarClan."

Foxface felt her lips curl. "Darkstripe certainly had _his_ connection to StarClan _strengthened_."

Bluestar looked at her coolly. Foxface felt like she should apologize but couldn't bring herself to.

"Most of the time the apprentices are just standing outside the Mothermouth," she pointed out, "and there is always a risk of losing a warrior or an apprentice on the journey. Explain to me how this strengthens their connection to StarClan _without_ killing them?"

Bluestar sighed. "I know you feel responsible for Darkstripe's death, but you shouldn't let that determine how you feel about our way of life."

"I could say the same for you, Bluestar," Foxface meowed. "Is your devotion to StarClan and desire to speak with them every moon clouding your judgement when it comes to the safety of your Clanmates?"

Bluestar bristled. "Are you saying I do not care about the safety of my Clanmates?"

Foxface felt like sneering at Bluestar but she licked her lips and forced her lips to relax. "It's hard to think otherwise when you're forcing our apprentices to take a journey that doesn't benefit them or _us_ in the slightest."

Bluestar lashed her tail. "Are you suggesting that we shouldn't take our apprentices to the Moonstone?"

"You aren't taking them to the Moonstone," meowed Foxface. "You're taking them to Mothermouth so _you_ can visit the Moonstone. Darkstripe would still be alive if we had stayed in camp. And with Brokenstar on the loose, leaving the camp even four cats short will be an invitation for attack, especially if one of those missing cats is you or our deputy."

"We need this," meowed Bluestar. "How are we going to feel connected with our ancestors if we don't go?"

"No, we don't need to feel a connection with our ancestors, but a medicine cat does. A medicine cat needs to feel a connection with our ancestors and for StarClan to speak to them. They are StarClan's link to us, after all, and the source of our Clan's omens and prophecies. Our warriors don't need to feel that connection to be good warriors. We have the warrior code to remind us what StarClan expects of us."

"You blame me for Darkstripe's death," Bluestar meowed, eyes narrowed.

Foxface half-snarled. "This isn't about you, Bluestar!" She glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the patrol. Whitestorm was obviously listening but he said nothing. "How many more warriors are going to die before you let this obsession with the Moonstone go?"

Bluestar halted at the top of the rise. Around them, Fourtrees stood as tall as skyscrapers, letting only the light of the full moon shine through a gap in the center of the oak canopies.

Bluestar turned towards Whitestorm. "Do you agree with this?"

The white warrior hesitated, glancing at Foxface but she kept her narrowed gaze firmly on Bluestar. He dipped his head. "We can never be certain what could have happened if Darkstripe had never gone to the Moonstone and we can never be certain what will happen if we stop sending our apprentices to Mothermouth." Whitestorm paused. "But Foxface raises a valid point, Bluestar. When I went on the journey, I was the same when I went there as when I came back. There is no reason for a warrior's apprentice to go on the journey."

Bluestar flattened her ears. "If even you cannot understand why we do this, then I guess there is no point in continuing it. We will no longer bring our apprentices to the Moonstone."

Foxface relaxed. "Perhaps StarClan will one day remind us why we must make the journey in the first place, but until then it is safer to remain in our camp. Especially with the rats and Brokenstar barring our way there."

Looking sad, Bluestar gave Foxface a nod. "I will speak with the other Clan leaders about this and make an announcement on it tomorrow." With that, she waved her tail and stepped up to the edge of the great bowl and descended into the Gathering place.

The fox-colored warrior hesitated on the rise, watching as the ThunderClan warriors joined the RiverClan warriors below. Foxface saw Crookedstar at the top of the Great Rock and his patrol already at the bottom. He rose to his paws when he saw the ThunderClan cats crest the rise and descend into the bowl. Bluestar sprang up onto the Great Rock beside him and twisted around to sit, wrapping her tail around her paws.

Foxface wasn't sure she liked the idea of having a meeting in such an open space, where anyone could charge down the slope and attack the cats below. It was a pure test of faith that the Clan cats would willing descend into the valley and expect no one to attack them during a Gathering.

The massive she-cat wondered if she should sit beside one of the RiverClan cats and saw Whitestorm walk up to and sit beside the blue-gray tom, Stonefur. Ravenfeather sat down next to a black and white tom that she guessed was Whiteclaw and Willowpelt meowed a greeting to a young, smokey black she-cat. Foxface finally just meowed a greeting at and settled beside a smokey black tom with green eyes, noticing for the first time that she was the same size as the large RiverClan cats.

"Good evening," she meowed politely. "What's your name?"

The older warrior hesitated. "Blackclaw," he meowed finally, gesturing with his tail to the other RiverClan cats. "That's Stonefur, Shadepaw, Skyheart and Whiteclaw."

Foxface blinked at the strange brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat who was speaking with a nervous Firepaw. "Skyheart is that one?"

"Yes," Blackclaw meowed.

"Hmm, I've never seen a cat with that kind of coat color," she meowed. Tortoiseshell cats were supposed to have red and either brown, black or reddish brown fur, with or without the white spotting. The lack of a red pigment meant that Skyheart was probably a chimera of two different tortoiseshell cats, one brown-and-red and the other black-and-red, except all the red had been replaced with the other color. Foxface couldn't be sure because she had never seen a cat with brown instead of red spots. "I'd love to see her kits."

Blackclaw frowned. "She can't have kits."

Foxface grimaced and flattened her ears. "Oh. Sorry about that."

He shrugged. "Never bothered her. She's always wanted to be a warrior her whole life."

Foxface nodded, growing quiet. She wondered, briefly, if she could even have kits, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of dark shapes as they poured into the clearing. Blackclaw tensed beside her and she watched wearily as the cats spread out. There were about six cats total. Nightstar pelted up the side of the Great Rock and settled at the top to converse with the other leaders. A dark gray tabby tom padded up to greet Whiteclaw and Ravenfeather, and Foxface realized he must be Flintfang. Four other ShadowClan cats meowed greetings, and a tabby brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat joined them.

"Newtspeck," Blackclaw greeted with a dip of his head.

"Blackclaw," she meowed, before flashing a polite smile at Foxface. "And you are?"

"Uh, Foxface," she meowed, feeling a prickle of embarrassment at having to introduce herself.

The tabby tortoiseshell she-cat flinched. "Ouch. Must be rough."

Foxface relaxed and purred. "Thanks."

"How is your mate doing, Blackclaw?" mewed Newtspeck.

"She is doing fine," meowed the black tom. "She has had her paws full, though."

"That is good to hear. I'm sure Mistyfoot is proud of her litter," Newtspeck meowed with a purr, her eyes clouded with memories. "Raising them was always the best part."

Blackclaw shifted. "If you say so."

Newtspeck was oblivious to his discomfort.

Foxface tilted her head thoughtfully. "Who was your mate, Newtspeck?"

The she-cat flattened her ears. "Brokenstar," she admitted softly.

Foxface sucked in a breath and she felt Blackclaw bristle beside her. "I'm sorry. I heard what happened to ShadowClan's kits. Did he spare any of them?"

"Brownpaw and Littlecloud are fine," she meowed with a wave of her tail. "They weren't old enough before Brokenstar left."

"Thank StarClan," breathed Foxface, relaxing. "I don't think he would have spared even his own kits if he thought they were too weak."

Newtspeck flattened her ears. "You're probably right."

Sensing she had said too much, Foxface grew quiet. The trio of leaders padded off the Great Rock a few moments later and the patrols gathered around them.

"We have decided," meowed Nightstar with a glance at Crookedstar, "that we will stick with the original plan. Whiteclaw, Ravenfeather and Flintfang will go and fetch WindClan tomorrow night, and they will pass through ShadowClan territory and avoid WindClan territory until they have picked up the scent. We will monitor the situation with the rogues while they are gone and determine what to do about them at the next Gathering. If WindClan has not returned by then, we will take matters into our own paws."

"And what of the medicine cats?" meowed a small gray-and-white ShadowClan tom. "They will need to go to the Moonstone at both halfmoons. Are you going to let them pass through your territory?"

Nightstar hesitated before nodding. "You raise a valid point, Runningnose. As long as they do not hunt on our territory or try to steal our herbs, they can pass through our territory unmolested."

"Anything else?" meowed Bluestar, looking almost expectantly at Foxface.

"I don't want to insult any Clan," Foxface meowed, glancing around at the other Clan cats, "but, until we know how many of them there are, we should make sure that all information on them is shared between our border patrols and focus those patrols on every spot bordering WindClan."

Nightstar looked thoughtful. "We cannot stop patrolling our borders. We need to mark them."

"I'm not saying you should stop," meowed Foxface, glancing at Bluestar. "But our focus should be on dealing with the rogues."

Crookedstar bristled. "Are you saying more ThunderClan cats should be crossing the border?"

"What ThunderClan cat has crossed the border?" meowed Bluestar sharply, looking at Foxface.

Foxface glanced at Firepaw, unnerved that Bluestar was staring at her and hoping that Firepaw might be able to tell them about Graypaw. The fiery red tom was confused at her look, however, and she realized he'd be no help.

"One of your apprentices has been crossing the border near Sunningrocks," meowed Crookedstar, shoving his face into Bluestar's. "Can ThunderClan keep their apprentices under control?"

"Is the whole of RiverClan threatened by a single apprentice?" meowed Foxface.

Whitestorm spoke up, fur ruffled. "If one of our apprentices has been crossing the border, we will take care of it ourselves."

Bluestar sent Whitestorm a sharp glance. "If any of our apprentices has been crossing the border, they will be punished appropriately."

When Crookedstar had flattened his fur, Foxface spoke up again. "So, will you share information between your border patrols?"

"ShadowClan will share whatever information we can gather on the rogues," meowed Nightstar. "If ThunderClan agrees to share whatever they and RiverClan have found."

"ThunderClan agrees," meowed Bluestar, looking expectantly at Crookedstar.

The dark gray leader narrowed his eyes and let out a frustrated hiss through clenched teeth. "RiverClan agrees, as long as no ThunderClan cat crosses the border."

Feeling almost as frustrated as Crookedstar, Foxface decided that nailing Graypaw's paws to a tree would be an acceptable solution to the problem. If only he had started doing this when he was a warrior, then she'd have less of problem with throwing the cat into the river or sending him to RiverClan to stay with whatever kits he and Silverstream were baking together. Now, or for the foreseeable future, Graypaw needed to be confined to ThunderClan camp.

 _Lionheart would never have approved of this_ , she thought, _and, if I'm gonna have to be the one to tell the furball, then so be it_.

* * *

When the warmth of sunlight touched her fur through the cracks in the top of the warrior's den, Foxface rose from her nest and padded into the camp. A fresh mist had settled over the camp and the dawn patrol had already left to mark the border. Tigerclaw was in his usual spot underneath the Highrock and she padded over to greet him.

"When's Ravenfeather leaving?" meowed the dark warrior, getting straight to the point.

"Tonight. He and Whiteclaw are going to pass through ThunderClan territory and meet with Flintfang on the ShadowClan border." Foxface paused. "I spoke with Bluestar last night about the journey to the Moonstone. She said she was going to announce today that the apprentices are no longer required to go to the Moonstone to become warriors."

Tigerclaw nodded stiffly. "That isn't going to stop her from going to the Moonstone every moon," he meowed.

"I know, but now we aren't risking apprentices on the journey, with the rats and Brokenstar standing in the way," she meowed. "Bluestar can be so selfish sometimes, if you excuse me saying."

"She thinks the Clan owes her," he said, his eyes narrowing shrewdly, "ever since she killed her kits."

Foxface sucked in a breath, her eyes wide with shock. "What?"

Tigerclaw licked a paw, his gaze turning sad. "You haven't heard?" he meowed softly. "Before she became a leader, Bluefur was a queen. She took them out of the camp and made it look like a fox had taken them. Then she threw them into the river."

Tigerclaw's story sounded so similar to the one in canon that Foxface almost believed it. How else could Tigerclaw know about Bluefur taking her kits to the river? "What?" she asked, shocked. She wrapped her tail around her paws and remembered what she had always thought of Bluestar, the queen who gave away her kits for power and murdered Mosskit as a result. Had Tigerclaw, then Tigerpaw, followed Bluestar to the river and seen what happened to Mosskit and thus assumed the worst? "How do you know for sure?"

"I was there," he meowed. "There was no fox smell in the nursery, just a bunch of cat claw marks at the back of the nursery."

 _Tigerclaw isn't stupid,_ she thought, _but Bluestar's story was weak anyway._ "The kits could have snuck out the back of the nursery. Like Mistlekit and Snowkit."

Tigerclaw shook his head sadly. "If only that were true," he meowed. "But there wasn't even the faintest whiff of a fox anywhere. Thistleclaw and I scored the woods together. Neither of us smelled anything. It was only afterwards that we figured out why she did it. She was made deputy a day later." His gaze slid to hers.

Foxface's mind raced. She felt like her entire world had fallen out from under her feet. "I don't..."

"We tracked her scent to the river," meowed Tigerclaw softly, his gaze studying her carefully.

"Who else knows?" meowed Foxface, shocked.

"Darkstripe knew," he said, "because I told him." Tigerclaw shook his head. "But I should never have told him. He needed to learn obedience and respect first."

Foxface felt numb and sick. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse. "What are you planning on doing about it, then?"

Tigerclaw studied her carefully and then shrugged. "There is nothing to do, right now. She is Clan leader and we must obey the warrior code."

She nodded numbly. _I always knew Bluestar was responsible for Mosskit's death, but to live one's whole life thinking she had killed all three of her kits?_ Foxface couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Thistleclaw and Tigerclaw when they found out. _Why did they never say anything?_ she wondered, remembering how Tigerclaw had attacked a kit half his size just to "defend ThunderClan's border".

She looked away from him, realizing that he was telling her this not because he cared but because she did. Strangely, this made her feel better. _Bluestar might have killed Mosskit by accident, but Tigerclaw tried to kill a kitten just because he was a kittypet and Thistleclaw let him. Bluestar is the lesser of three evils.  
_

"I meant to tell you," meowed Foxface, sounding choked, "that Crookedstar was upset that one of our apprentices had been crossing the border. We identified Graypaw as the cat who has been doing it. I would suggest putting him on every patrol for the next few days so he's too tired to go speak with his RiverClan she-cat."

Tigerclaw hissed. "After he let that kittypet into the Clan, I should have known he would do something like this. He's as softhearted as a kittypet."

Foxface nodded in agreement. "If we can convince Bluestar to banish him, I think my mind and the minds of many ThunderClan cats would be at ease."

"It will be hard to convince Bluestar to banish Graypaw if he suddenly becomes diligent doing patrols," Tigerclaw pointed out.

"Yes, but she probably would be more inclined to banish him if he's made a warrior sooner," Foxface meowed, wondering how she had stooped so low as to plot with Tigerclaw.

"Not if she thinks he's learned his lesson," Tigerclaw pointed out.

"Graypaw will never learn his lesson," meowed Foxface with a sneer. "He's sleeping with a RiverClan she-cat and he's head over tail for her. I don't think even a moon of working patrols will make him not long for her." Her tail twitched. "If anything, when he starts messing up again after being made a warrior, Bluestar will know he's a lost cause and banish him then."

Tigerclaw stared at her and finally nodded. "If you think so. I will put him on every patrol I can." He lifted his head. "In a halfmoon, Bluestar is planning on making Brindleface's kits into apprentices. I would be interested in hearing your suggestions on who should be there mentors."

Foxface sensed that Tigerclaw was giving her an opportunity to claim one of them for her own. "Cinderkit should go to Sandstorm," she said with barely any hesitation. "Thornkit would make a good apprentice for Dustpelt. I guess that would leave Brackenkit for me."

"Why Brackenkit?" meowed Tigerclaw with a faint sneer. "Thornkit is more obedient and would make an easier apprentice."

"Brackenkit needs someone who can improve upon his strengths," meowed Foxface. "He's got the potential to be a good deputy, if coached properly."

"Then what is stopping me from being his mentor?" meowed Tigerclaw.

"Aren't you going to be busy running the Clan, especially with Graypaw being such a nuisance?" meowed Foxface, suddenly worried he might try and mentor Brackenkit and leave her with Thornkit. "I cannot dissuade you from it, of course, but you yourself said that Thornkit would be easier."

"You like Brackenkit, don't you?" meowed Tigerclaw.

Feeling that Tigerclaw had just insinuated something disgusting, Foxface gave him a weak smile and said, nervously. "I think of him as my own kit."

Tigerclaw nodded. "Very well. I will make my suggestions to Bluestar." His eyes flashed. "If you would do me a favor."

Foxface's tail-tip twitched nervously. "Yes, Tigerclaw?"

"I'm going to need someone to lead the RiverClan border patrols and make sure that Graypaw is not crossing over them," he meowed. "Can you handle it?"

Foxface relaxed, having half-expected Tigerclaw to have asked her to kill Graypaw. She didn't know if Bluestar would have believed her if she told her that Tigerclaw had ordered her to do that, consider how much Bluestar just didn't trust her opinion.

"Of course, Tigerclaw. If you'd like, I would like to keep vigil at night to make sure he doesn't sneak off." Her eyes narrowed. "I know all the places he might use to escape from."

Tigerclaw nodded. "I'm sure Goldenflower will be relieved."

* * *

When she had finished her dawn patrol, Foxface retired to the warrior den to sleep off the rest of the day, poking Dustpelt and waking him.

"I want to be up at dusk to escort Ravenfeather to the border," she meowed. "Could you...?"

The dusky dark brown tom yawned loudly. "Sure, Foxscar," he meowed, before blinking at her. "You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

Foxface purred and shook her head. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course," he meowed, with an amused purr. "We sleep right next to each other, after all."

Foxface let out a mrrow of laughter and lashed him with her tail. "You know what I meant," she meowed.

Dustpelt purred.

She barely caught a few hours of sleep when the dark brown tom prodded her with a paw. "It's dusk," he said simply. "Ravenfeather, the kittypet and the traitor are waiting for us."

Foxface nodded and rose to her paws, stretching the sleep out of her limbs. She padded quickly out into the camp where the last rays of the sun streaked overhead. Dustpelt waited outside the warrior's den for her and fell into step beside her as they lead the small group towards the RiverClan border.

"Why to RiverClan?" mewed Dustpelt, confused. "I thought he was going through ShadowClan territory."

"We have to pick up Whiteclaw first," Ravenfeather meowed in reply.

They skirted the edge of Fourtrees and halted when they reached the edge of RiverClan territory. Foxface gazed out over the river and blinked at the four shapes waiting on the other side. Ravenfeather stepped up and yowled a greeting to the distant cats. A few heartbeats later, two of the four shapes plunged into the water and began padding across towards them. Stonefur and Whiteclaw stepped up to the border, dripping wet.

"Any news?" meowed Foxface hopefully.

Stonefur shook his head. "None of the rogues have tried to cross the river and we haven't sent a patrol over here for a while."

Foxface opened her mouth to scent the border and scented the stale RiverClan scent. Her fur prickled in irritation. "Are you planning to neglect the border?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Stonefur stiffened. "Of course not," he meowed.

Foxface wasn't so sure he was speaking for Crookedstar but decided to leave it be. She turned away towards ShadowClan, meowing for the others to follow. Stonefur mewed a farewell to Whiteclaw before the blue-gray tom disappeared into the water.

 _He looks so much like Bluestar_ , Foxface thought, remembering what Tigerclaw had said. _He has to be her son._

Shaking away the thought, she lead the patrol to the ShadowClan border where five ShadowClan cats waited. Foxface recognized Newtspeck and Flintfang among them. She raised her tail to halt the patrol and watched Whiteclaw pad over to speak with Flintfang. She turned her attention to Ravenfeather.

"This time, for real, huh?" she meowed, suddenly nervous about sending him off. Ravenfeather hadn't been particularly good at crossing thunderpaths, with his nervousness always getting in the way of safely crossing. _The tangle of thunderpaths is going to be so much worse than that._

Ravenfeather touched her nose and purred. "I'm going to be okay." He looked at Dustpelt. "You'll take care of her, right?"

"Of course," meowed Dustpelt, baffled. He awkwardly glanced between the two of them and touched noses with his littermate. "You take care of yourself," he meowed firmly.

Ravenfeather nodded and purred. "I will."

Foxface blinked at them both, wondering why Dustpelt needed to protect her when she could so obviously take care of herself. She glanced at Firepaw as the two apprentices meowed their good-byes to the tom. Suddenly, Dustpelt hissed.

A smokey black she-cat barreled out of the forest, stinking of RiverClan. She glanced around and rushed over to Whiteclaw's side. "Whiteclaw!" she meowed, worriedly.

"Shadepaw," the black and white tom breathed, with an embarrassed glance around. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to say good-bye," meowed Shadepaw. "I'm sorry about putting nettles in your nest and I'm sorry I called you fishbrained and I don't really think you smell like a ShadowClan cat and-"

Whiteclaw silenced the apprentice with his tail, fur ruffled in embarrassment but a warm purr on his throat. "It's okay," meowed Whiteclaw. "I promise I'll be back soon."

Foxface suddenly felt uncomfortable, like she was never going to see these three toms ever again. She glanced skyward and blinked at the waning full moon. She closed her eyes and prayed, _StarClan keep them safe._

"Oh, great," mewed Dustpelt, "now we have to escort-"

Foxface stuffed her tail in his mouth, watching as Shadepaw backed up a step from the border. If cats could cry, Foxface was pretty sure the older apprentice would be doing just that. The two RiverClan cats touched noses as Ravenfeather joined Whiteclaw and Flintfang. The black tom looked at the smokey black she-cat, his amber eyes warm.

"I'll protect him. I promise."

Foxface felt her heart catch in her throat as Shadepaw nodded, her ears flat. The massive she-cat stepped forward and pressed comfortingly into the apprentice's wet fur, and saw Newtspeck do the same on the other side.

"Be careful," Foxface meowed firmly to Ravenfeather, before glancing at Whiteclaw and Flintfang. "All of you. May StarClan walk with you, wherever you go."

The black tom blinked warmly and nodded. "We'll be fine."

"We should go," meowed a old dark gray tom. He blinked at Foxface and gestured to Newtspeck. The tabby tortoiseshell stood up and padded away, glancing back at them both.

Foxface nodded and stood up as well, mewing softly to Shadepaw. "It's time to go."

Shadepaw looked at Foxface, flattened her ears and finally nodded. "Okay," she mewed shakily.

"Good-bye, Shadepaw," meowed Whiteclaw as the patrol disappeared beyond the ShadowClan border.

"Good-bye, Whiteclaw," meowed the black she-cat.

Foxface waited long enough for Shadepaw to look away from the black and white tom, before she put a tail on the she-cat's shoulder and began leading the patrol back to the RiverClan border. Stonefur and Blackclaw were waiting anxiously, relaxing when they saw that Shadepaw was okay.

"You shouldn't have run off like that," meowed Blackclaw sternly, a fatherly warmth in his eye. "What would Mistyfoot think?"

Shadepaw looked away, her ears flat.

"Thank you for bringing back my apprentice," meowed Stonefur apologetically.

"No problem," growled Dustpelt, hostility in his gaze.

Foxface nudged his shoulder. "These are strange and unusual times," she meowed carefully. "There is no telling who is going to survive." She looked at Shadepaw. "It was better to say good-bye now before it was too late."

Shadepaw glanced back at her, pain in her eyes. Foxface couldn't help but blink warmly back. _I know how you feel_ , she thought. With a nod, the smokey black apprentice turned away and slipped back into the water, her father a tail-length behind her.

Dustpelt touched Foxface's shoulder gently with his nose and the two shared a look. Dustpelt studied her expression carefully before licking her cheek, reminding Foxface how much smaller he was compared to her.

"They're going to be okay," he meowed softly.

 _I hope you're right,_ she thought, blinking gratefully at him. "Let's get back to camp."

* * *

 **A/N: WhiteXShade is the most random background character pairing ever. Of all time. xD  
**

 **Next chapter is another one featuring Firepaw! Three guesses as to what it's going to be about! XD  
**

 **Also, the poll for Foxface's new name is still up if anyone is interested. In about three or four chapters, she's going to have her renaming ceremony. I've narrowed down the choices to Foxshadow, Foxpelt, Foxfang and Foxthistle. It would help if you Guests would mention at the top of your review which names you prefer and if you want to change your vote. Voting ends when the next chapter is posted!  
**

 **See you guys Monday!**


	17. Fire and Ice pt 5

**A/N: The winning vote is... to be revealed! Her renaming ceremony will occur in two chapters maybe three, so that's something to look forward to. ;P  
**

 **Fala: Are you saying that Runningwind or Scorchwind are both limited to WindClan cats? Becuase I'm pretty sure that Runningwind is ThunderClan and Scorchwind is ShadowClan. I honestly don't think the Erins even think of something like that when they name the cats.  
**

 **AnonChan1: LOL. I am definitely NOT doing it on purpose! (Mwahahahah!) (1) Foxy loves arguing with Bluestar, it's when Bluestar does things like ask Whitestorm for his opinion that makes Foxy avoid it. After all, she doesn't know why Bluestar is just disappointed in her. :( (2) Yeah, Skyheart is a case of "Never had it so never wanted it". I don't even think she has the hormones necessary to want it. She's literally asexual. (3) Blackclaw is like that guy who never talks about his feelings. He can't translate desires very well. ...and as for NewtspeckXBrokenstar. Ugh, that's a SpottedXThistle relationship gone wrong right there. (4) xD (5) Tigerclaw is Tigerclaw, to quote Graypaw here, lol. Tigerclaw's character is a bit complicated. He's scheming for sure. (6) Actually, what happens to Graypaw is in this chapter. (7) Yup, yup. (8) Cute nickname. (9) Yup, yup! Foxy had to confirm it for herself, since she studied cat genetics hard before ending up here. (10) Yup, Ravenfeather and Foxy have had this onesided relationship. Foxy sees him as her son and Ravenfeather sees her as more than just a friend. Sadly, he also knows that it's not mutual. Poor Raven. (11) Muahahahahah!  
**

 **S1L3NT: Whatever name she gets, that doesn't mean Dustpelt's going to stop calling her Foxscar, however. :)  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: Thank you for your review!  
**

 **Fakira: Predictions are half the fun, especially when it turns out your right! At least, that's my opinion.  
**

 **lemon: Make the fanart! I love fanart! I've never had fanart before... Thank you so much for all your comments on Fire-Man, Foxy and Tigger. I'm so glad someone is noticing!** **Mwahahahahahah! Also, do tell! I want to know why you think Foxy would make a poor leader choice.  
**

* * *

Firepaw woke to the feel of someone's paw jabbing into his side. He blinked into the sharp green eyes of Sandstorm, the young warrior glaring disapprovingly down at him.

"We're on hunting patrol," she meowed, before backing out of the den.

It had been days since Bluestar had announced to the Clans that apprentices would no longer be required to go to Moonstone. Firepaw couldn't help but feel disappointed that he wouldn't be able to travel to Highstones, but he guessed that it was for the best - the rogues were between them and Mothermouth and he doubted any cat would want to leave the Clan during such unpredictable and perilous times.

Firepaw padded out into the camp and blinked at the large hunting patrol which had formed at the entrance to the camp. Graypaw looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, shooting angry glares at the warrior's den where Firepaw guessed Foxface was located. Swiftpaw looked like he wanted to be running through the forest and slaughtering prey, glancing similar and more secretive glances toward the warrior's den. Brightpaw was the only one who seemed focused on anything other than the warrior's den, chatting energetically with Sandstorm. The pale ginger she-cat shot a glanced towards Firepaw and gestured for the apprentices to gathering around her. Firepaw rushed to sit beside Graypaw, but the pale gray tom shot a look of pure anger. Feeling hurt, Firepaw looked away.

"Today," meowed Sandstorm, and Firepaw guessed she was trying to sound commanding but her voice was to pitchy and grated on the ears. "We will be traveling to the Great Sycamore and-"

"Why can't we just hunt at Lion's Trap?" asked Graypaw, shifting in his spot. "There's probably tons of rabbits there. We'll be done long before dusk."

Sandstorm stared down her nose at Graypaw. "We will be going to hunt around the Great Sycamore," she reiterated, "and, if any of you try to hunt outside your areas, I will be reporting you straight to the deputy. That goes double for you, Graypaw."

She turned away with her tail raised high in the air and began padding away through the bramble entrance. Swiftpaw practically bolted after her, with Brightpaw taking a more leisurely pace behind him. Firepaw tried to fall into step beside Graypaw, but the apprentice quickly outpaced him. Firepaw was forced to follow behind at a run.

They were forced to slow down before they reached the clearing surrounding the Great Sycamore. Sandstorm gestured with her tail for them to gather around her. "Brightpaw, you will be hunting near the stream. Swiftpaw, you will be hunting south of the Sandy Hollow. Firepaw, you will be hunting in the Treecutplace. Graypaw, you will be hunting in Tallpines. Any questions?"

They all shook their head. Firepaw glanced at Graypaw, but the pale gray apprentice quickly disappeared into the forest, his fur spiked up in quiet fury. Firepaw ducked his head and headed towards Treecutplace. The tall pine trees of Treecutplace bespoke of there once being a large expanse of territory with tall trees. Pine needles litter the ground, preventing vegetation from growing and making Firepaw feel exposed. The warm smell of mice drew him towards the only twoleg nest in treecutplace. He padded up to the house and discovered a great dark den underneath, which smelled heavily of mice.

He managed to catch entire mouthfuls of the creatures, his claws and teeth lashing out at the tiny moving shapes. He dragged them out into the daylight to bury them and found himself face to face with an angry pale gray tom.

"Graypaw!" Firepaw meowed, shocked. "Shouldn't you be hunting in Tallpines?"

"Probably," Graypaw meowed with an angry shrug. "Why did you tell every cat in the Clan that I was on the RiverClan border?"

Firepaw recoiled. "I didn't tell anyone anything. I didn't even know, Graypaw."

Graypaw stared at him hard and then sat down. "But how? Who knew?"

Firepaw blinked. "I don't know," he said, "but you should head back to Tallpines before Sandstorm finds out."

"I don't care," he half-growled, lashing his tail angrily. "Do you think it was Foxface who did it?"

Firepaw shifted uncomfortably. "It could have been anyone, Graypaw," he meowed. "Look, I need to get back to hunting. So should you. Take a mouse or two if you want." He glanced around, hoping Sandstorm wasn't nearby to see Graypaw clearly being nowhere near his hunting spot. "Quickly, before you get into trouble."

The gray tom glared at the offered mouse and snatched two by the tail before turning to leave. Firepaw watched him, a pang of sadness tugging at his heart. He hoped this wouldn't ruin their friendship. With a sigh, he padded back under the twoleg nest and slew two times as many mouse as Graypaw had run away with. Deciding that he had hunted enough to be forced to carry back to camp in two trips, he gathered up all the mice he could carry and headed back to camp. When he managed to claw his way out from underneath the wall surrounding treecutplace, Sandstorm greeted him with an angry mew.

"Did Graypaw visit you?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Never mind, of course, he did. You can be certain Whitestorm is going to hear about this."

Firepaw dropped his prey. "You aren't going to tell Tigerclaw?"

Sandstorm shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sure he'll want to know, too, but apprentices are their mentor's problem." She glanced at the piece of prey at his paws. "Is that all you caught?"

"I left a lot more back there," he meowed. "Might take two trips to get it all."

Sandstorm's whiskers twitched and she nodded. "I will see you later then." She turned and padded away towards tallpines.

Firepaw felt uncomfortable in his fur, wondering if he could help his friend somehow. He couldn't imagine how things might get worse, unless Tigerclaw knew about what Graypaw was doing. If Ravenfeather was right, Graypaw might not be getting out of this situation with his fur on him. _Why did Graypaw do it?_ he wondered, as he gathered up his prey and headed back to camp.

Firepaw jolted awake that night when he felt a breath of cold air on his side. He watched as a familiar shape padded out of the den and disappeared outside. He hesitated briefly and followed, glancing around the camp cautiously for the familiar shape of his friend. The pale gray tom seemed to disappear into the shadows, slinking across the camp towards the dirtplace. Firepaw relaxed somewhat and turned away.

A low angry hiss made him turn back. Graypaw backed up into the camp, his lips twisted into a snarl as Foxface emerged from the dirtplace, her fur bristling and eyes narrowed into slits. Firepaw felt his heart climb into his throat and he felt his muscles seize up.

"I'm just going to make dirt," meowed Graypaw defensively.

Foxface's sun-gold eyes seemed to glow brightly in the moonlight, like two angry suns glaring down from a dark face. She hissed lowly. "I'm not stupid, Graypaw. I know all the best places for sneaking out of camp. Who do you think told Ravenfeather where to disappear to when we were just apprentices?" The massive she cat stood at her full height, towering over the smaller and younger tom. Her eyes were narrowed into slits. "You're a disappointment to your Clan, Graypaw. Do you know that?"

"What have I done that makes you think that?" growled the young tom. "I'm loyal to ThunderClan."

"A loyal warrior of ThunderClan would never be trying to mate with that RiverClan she-cat _every single day_ ," hissed Foxface. "A loyal ThunderClan cat wouldn't be trying to sneak out right now."

The pale gray tom bristled. "We aren't doing the Clans any harm!"

"You're right," meowed Foxface. "You're doing yourself harm. If you continue with this stupid tryst, you're going to get you, her or all your kits killed."

Firepaw felt a chill run through his whole body. Was that a warning or a threat?

"You won't hurt them," Graypaw meowed fearlessly.

"No," she meowed, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws, "I won't hurt them." She paused, looking thoughtful. "You know, I knew Lionheart personally. He was strong, noble and brave. He fought for his Clan until his last breath when ShadowClan attacked. Will you do the same against RiverClan? No, you wouldn't. If you saw her in battle, you'd roll over and let them attack your Clanmates. Lionheart would be disappointed in you."

"You don't know anything about me," the pale gray tom snarled, lips curling back angrily. "Now, let me through."

"To do what?" she meowed. "If you disappear for too long, I will come after you. I will follow you all the way to the RiverClan border and wait for _her stink_ to cling to you before I drag you all the way back here. The whole Clan will have but to smell you to know where you've been. You'll be banished from the Clan. Do you want to be banished? Do you want to be labeled a traitor for the rest of your life? That is what you're becoming, Graypaw. Won't Lionheart be pleased?"

Graypaw lashed his tail in fury and flattened his ears. "You don't know Lionheart at all," he meowed lowly.

Foxface blinked at him. "Lionheart was a cat who died fighting for his Clan. His apprentice should try to emulate that, and no cat can do that by chasing a she-cat in some other Clan. A Clan, I might remind you, we will have to fight Sunningrocks over."

 _Listen to her,_ Firepaw thought. _Listen to common sense, Graypaw._ Firepaw wondered if Graypaw was going to attack her. The uncomfortable situation made him tense, even though he was nowhere near them. He swallowed nervously.

Finally, Graypaw lowered his head. "I won't go," he meowed. "But not for you. For Lionheart."

Firepaw felt confusion as he saw something flash in her eyes. She blinked deeply and nodded. "I will only wait for a little bit. If you aren't out by then, I'm coming after you."

When Graypaw had disappeared from sight, Firepaw watched as Foxface padded away from the dirtplace entrance towards her vigil. Feeling tense and nervous, wondering if Graypaw had already slipped out and away, Firepaw finally forced himself to look away and padded back to his nest to wait for Graypaw's return. It was a tense and quiet wait, and Firepaw felt relieved when he heard a cat pad into the den and settle down beside him in Graypaw's nest. The pale gray tom made a noise of frustration and slumped into his nest. Firepaw couldn't help feel relieved that he was there and not out there getting himself in trouble.

The days seemed to pass in silence. Firepaw kept expecting something to happen, for a patrol to run into the rogues and come back bloodied or dead, or for Bluestar to make an announcement to share any news the other Clans might have had. Occasionally, before he retired for the day, he could see Tigerclaw and Foxface talking lowly to one another and casting glances in the direction of either the apprentice's den or the nursery. Firepaw felt a chilly wind sweep through his fur and he thought he smelled a faint hint of the marsh.

Firepaw could tell from the way Graypaw's shoulders slumped and how he stumbled around, unable to catch even a mouse, just how tired the tom was. It wasn't hard to figure out that Foxface, Sandstorm, Tigerclaw and Whitestorm were all conspiring against him.

Firepaw wondered how he could help his friend, but remembered how surly and angry Graypaw was about the whole situation and decided against it. It made him uncomfortable, especially when Firepaw only had his battle training in the morning and the hunting patrol after sunhigh to worry about. It was, in a word, unfair.

He kept catching plenty of mice to bring back to camp, and kept sharing that mice with Graypaw. If Sandstorm noticed, she said nothing about it and, if she made any remark about it to Tigerclaw or Whitestorm, they made no mention of it either. Firepaw felt relieved.

Firepaw quickly padded out from underneath the twoleg nest with his second load of prey. The prey had already started to move out from underneath the den, making it harder for Firepaw to hunt there. He was careful to only catch enough to share between him and Graypaw without making either of them look like they were slacking off. He clawed his way out from underneath the fence and greeted a tired Graypaw with a soft mew. The pale gray tom was already carrying Firepaw's first load and he blinked tiredly and gratefully at Firepaw before the two set off for camp.

The beginning of dusk had started to turn the sky purple when they crawled through the bramble entrance. Bluestar was there to greet them. She glanced at Graypaw and frowned at the sight of the bedraggled tom. "Graypaw, once you're done with that prey, get some rest."

Whitestorm and Foxface were seated nearby. The senior warrior perked up and shot Bluestar a grateful look. Foxface merely frowned, her eyes softening when she looked at Graypaw and she looked away when Firepaw met her eyes. Feeling uncomfortable, Firepaw looked at Bluestar.

"Firepaw," meowed the blue-gray queen, "you've done well. Sandstorm has told me that your apprenticeship skills are more than acceptable for a warrior. I'm sure you are ready to be made a warrior tomorrow."

Firepaw dropped his prey in shock. "But Bluestar," he meowed, glancing at Graypaw and growing silent, suddenly afraid to speak.

Bluestar didn't need to follow his gaze to know what he meant. "You would rather wait for Graypaw," she meowed, pity in her eyes. "Are you sure about that, Firepaw? He might not be made a warrior for a while yet."

Firepaw glanced at the apprentice's den, feeling uncomfortable. "I would rather wait, Bluestar."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Foxface flash him a glare, but she licked her chest a heartbeat later to hide it. His fur prickled uneasily. Why would the she-cat be mad at him?

"If you wish, Firepaw," meowed Bluestar. "But I'm going to have you put on the border patrols from now on."

"What about the hunting patrol?" asked Firepaw, realizing with growing dread that he would not be able to help Graypaw anymore.

Bluestar waved her tail dismissively. "The other apprentices will need the time to practice their skills, and since it's greenleaf I'm not too worried about us running out of prey anytime soon."

Firepaw opened his mouth to protest but it died on his throat. He dipped his head and swallowed. "Yes, Bluestar."

"Then I expect to see you on the dawn patrol."

The fiery red tom glanced at Foxface, wondering if she had anything to do with it and if she knew that he had been giving part of his catch to Graypaw. She had been in charge of the dawn patrol for the last quarter moon, ever since Crookedstar had complained to ThunderClan about the apprentice who had crossed the border one too many times. There was no doubt that in Firepaw's mind that she was trying to separate them.

 _Why_? he wondered. _Why does she care?_

Think of the she-cat and she appeared, sitting serenely in front of him.

"Firepaw," she meowed seriously, "we need to talk."

"Don't you have vigil?" he meowed, fur bristling. He leaned down to pick up his prey but Foxface stopped him, cuffing him over the ear.

"That is not the tone you use when speaking to a warrior of any Clan," she half-growled, her long fur bristling more noticeably and making her look like a tiny, glaring-eyed monster. Firepaw flinched and flattened his ears. She sighed and licked her chest to flatten her fur. "Firepaw, you need to stop mothering Graypaw. You might be helping him avoid getting into trouble, but you're only going to make things worse for him in the future. Graypaw needs to figure out for himself where his heart lies and he can't do that with you trying to help him out of trouble."

Firepaw stung with this remark and he felt embarrassed, like a kit being scolded. "Why do you care so much?"

Foxface hesitated and sighed. "You don't understand what it's like."

"Because I'm a kittypet?" Firepaw half-snarled. "I've been a ThunderClan cat long enough to understand the basics. I would never turn my back on a fellow Clanmate in need."

"I meant," she meowed stiffly. "You will never understand what it is like to raise a kit."

Firepaw opened his mouth and then shut it. "Graypaw isn't a kit."

"No, he's much worse than a kit," she meowed. "He's an apprentice who doesn't care about anything other than his next meal."

Firepaw bristled. _No, he isn't. He cares about more than just that._

"You aren't doing him any favors by hunting prey for him," meowed Foxface.

"Is that why you had Tigerclaw reassign me to the dawn patrol?"

"That was Bluestar's idea," meowed Foxface, with a disdainful sniff, "but that doesn't mean it isn't a good thing."

"How is it a good thing?" meowed Firepaw, remembering how exhausted Graypaw always looked now. "He can barely hunt or patrol, he's so exhausted."

"To be fair," meowed Foxface darkly. "He never really tried."

Firepaw gave a shocked gasp.

"Graypaw needs space," meowed Foxface. "Give him time to come to his senses."

"And what if you're just pushing him further away?" meowed Firepaw.

Foxface closed her eyes and was silent for so long, Firepaw thought she might have gone to sleep on her paws. She blinked her eyes at him and he saw how sad she was. She meowed softly, as if speaking over someone's dead body. "Sometimes a cat needs to journey away from the Clans in order to find himself and to know where he truly belongs."

Firepaw felt chilled to his very bones. He looked away from those eyes. His heart was in his throat and he licked his fur to help calm himself down. Finally, he meowed, "Okay." His voice croaked.

Foxface blinked warmly at him and purred hoarsely. "I'll see you on the dawn patrol. Eat tonight. You might not get a chance in the morning."

Firepaw nodded numbly and watched Foxface pad away. He realized, with a start, that he didn't know what to think of the she-cat, whether she was a friend or an enemy, or something else entirely. She seemed to be combination of both or neither, and that made Firepaw very confused. Shaking himself mentally to clear away the thoughts, he turned away from the she-cat.

* * *

 **A/N: Things to note if you should ever get stuck in the Warrior's universe... never stand between Graypaw and Firepaw. Firepaw will bust you up if you try to separate him from his BBBF. (I swear Firepaw is bi...) Meanwhile, Foxface subtly references her own _real_ backstory where her parents smothered her to the point where she dreamed herself in this reality... yay. :/  
**

 **Until Thursday!**


	18. Fire and Ice pt 6

**A/N: I HAVE FANART! AAHHHHHHHHHH! Thank you, NightmareTheFoxWitch and S1L3NTK1LL3RJAY for the lovely fanart! I'd post a link on my account but all those links seem to keep dying. X( FFNET WHY? Sorry for it taking so long to update! For you guys who are interested in seeing their artwork, there are two ways to find it. (1) Go to the deviantart website and look at the url. It should say newest/ after the domain name. Replace newest/ with either art/Foxface-697629173 or** **art/Butterfly-Effect-697615760. Make sure that there is one / after 'com' in the domain url. (2) Go to my deviantart account. I'm SomeoneImSure dot deviantart dot com, erase spaces and replace 'dot' with a period. Go to my Favorite's folder 'FANART FOR ME' and you'll find them both there. If you have any questions or if neither of these methods work for you, let me know! Now, to answering your reviews!  
**

 **Fakira: Wow, so much to talk about here. Hmmm. I'm gonna break up my response a bit. (1) Oh, yes, silly inexperienced Firepaw. You know, I'm honestly surprised everyone seems to agree with her on this. I expected a lot more people going, "You shouldn't be messing with the main character's lives. Bad ex-human! Bad!" You know... flames. But I guess everyone just has some small beef with the original series at some point... with Graypaw being a popular problem. (2) Silverstream... has literally no personality in the books and simply serves as a hurdle for Graystripe to never get over. It's been her biggest character flaw and her only character trait. Despite that, I'm not surprised that a lot of people seem to like her. If Graystripe likes her, then there has to be something in her worth liking, right? That's my understanding of why everyone likes her. (3) Yeah, I think that Foxface has made an enemy out of Graypaw... and maybe out of Firepaw, too. (4) Predicting is fun! Ooo, that reminds me of an earlier draft. Hm, but talking about that might ruin future plots... hm. (5) Aw, yeah, poor Ravenfeather. I much prefer thinking of that relationship in terms of Darkstripe X Tigerclaw, where Darkstripe is head over heels for Tigerclaw, but Tigerclaw doesn't reciprocate. (6) Good! He _does_ deserve it.  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: Thank you so much for the fan art! I hope you don't mind if I leave links here. You and S1L3NT deserve it! 3  
**

 **lemon: Hm, I really like that character interpretation. It is very similar to how I'd see her. She's very much an outdoors human-turned-cat and an explorer. She'd make a terrible leader, but would make a really great elder or deputy.  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: You mean you like Firepaw's POV? Great! I like him, too! I honestly wish I had started Into the Wild with it, but... what can you do? XD  
**

 **S1L3NTK1LL3RJAY: Again, thank you so much for the fan art! Again, I hope you don't mind if I leave links! You guys need more watchers! (Thank you so much for re-reading my story! I'm shocked that you're rereading it at all. I hope it holds up!)  
**

 **cityskyliinee: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it and I am pleased as punch with the praise! I read a lot of self-insert fanfics too before starting this and I wanted to make it as unique as possible, so I had to throw out a lot of those old tropes. Plus, I had to throw out a lot of things that I didn't like about those stories and am doing everything in my power to avoid them. I hope I can keep this up and not mess it up in the future! *crosses fingers/knock on wood*  
**

 **AnonChan1: Ah, yes, the flaw with all the ThunderClan leaders. You see, it's all about trust. If Bluestar or Firestar or Brambleclaw actually trusted the Clan, then they'd reveal stuff like this. Bluestar never telling the Clan about "Only fire can save the Clan" prophecy and Firestar and Bramblestar never revealing SkyClans until Vision of Shadows are two examples of this mistrust. Of course, Foxy would never do something like that... right? *innocent eyes* XD (A) Well, it might end well for him... Foxy's plan _is_ to banish him from ThunderClan so he can live in RiverClan, potentially saving his kits. The assumption Foxy has made here is that, when Silverstream travels to meet with Graystripe while heavily pregnant, it causes her to injure herself internally, killing her during the pregnancy. (B) I am so glad I haven't completely demonized Graypaw. I'm patting myself on the back as we speak and crossing my fingers that I don't over do it in the future. (C) Hmm, that is true, but I think Graypaw is a bit too upset to figure that out on his own. (D) Yeah... but is that good news or bad news? (E) Hm. That is also true. Firepaw doesn't know that. (F) A little of both, I'd think. (G) Ah, yes, now we know why everyone kept calling her 'wise' in the beginning. Good! I'm glad I'm keeping her character consistent. (H) Yup. Her Beloved Smothers (except one's a guy but whatevs).  
**

* * *

It was days after her talk with Firepaw about Graypaw. The halfmoon had passed without any news being passed along the borders on what was going on with the rogues. Foxface was sure half the Clans had already assumed that the rogues had left and were planning to return to their normal activities. Which was exactly what was happening now in ThunderClan.

Her gaze swept the crowd of cats, her gaze flickering briefly over three familiar pelts as the three oldest kits shuffled eagerly in front of the nursery. She smiled fondly as she remembered meeting them two moons ago, when ShadowClan had attacked the camp and instinct had driven her into the nursery. Cinderkit, Thornkit and Brackenkit looked properly preened and eagerly waiting for their apprentice ceremonies to begin. She couldn't hear them over the excited murmurings of the crowd.

Foxface's gaze briefly wondered to beyond them. Willowpelt and Goldenflower had announced that they were returning to the nursery a quarter moon ago. Foxface felt sorry for Willowpelt, who had more than likely gone to the nursery because of the loss of her kit, Darkstripe. She saw a flash of white fur and looked at Frostfur, whose eyes clouded as she stared out over the clearing, a pale gray bundle trapped between her paws and watching the scene with one blue and one green eye. Mistlekit was three moons old now, and Foxface couldn't help but wonder if she could talk yet.

She quickly put the queens out of her mind when a familiar tom padded up beside her and placed his tail on her flank. Tigerclaw meowed a greeting and curled his tails around his paws.

"It is only a matter of time before Bluestar make Firepaw and Graypaw warriors now," he said with a slight sneer. "The apprentice's den is going to be too big with them all there."

"Indeed," meowed Foxface, tensing. "Especially now that the rogues have blocked our way to the Moonstone."

Tigerclaw raised an eyebrow at her. "Bluestar already announced that she will not be taking apprentices to the Moonstone."

"True," meowed Foxface carefully. "Though she required some persuasion. I'm sure she is going to bring that old tradition back to life once the danger has passed. She is obsessed with the Moonstone."

Tigerclaw nodded slowly in careful agreement. They feel into an uncomfortable silence which Foxface found herself glad of, but she knew he would want to speak with her again the moment Bluestar gave her an apprentice. She still wasn't sure whether she should have regretted asking him to help changer her name and let him help her get an apprentice. Why was he doing it anyway?

However, she was no closer to finding an answer to that as she was to figuring out why Firepaw still refused to become a warrior. She wondered if the young apprentice was hoping that, by showing some loyalty to the treacherous tom he could somehow convince him to be more loyal. She snorted at the idea and licked her paw, returning her attention to Bluestar as the real ceremony began.

Bluestar gestured the first apprentice forward. "From this moment on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Thornpaw," meowed Bluestar, before gesturing Dustpelt forward. "Dustpelt, you have learned all you can from Redtail and Darkstripe respectively, and I hope you will pass down some of your skills to Thornpaw."

The dusky dark brown tabby tom stepped forward and touched noses with Thornpaw. The younger tom's fur rippled with excitement but he was able to keep himself from bouncing on his paws. He padded after Dustpelt and off to the side with a calmness born of self-control. Foxface realized why Tigerclaw might have wanted him to be her apprentice. _He probably reminds the tom of_ _himself_ , she thought, glad that she had picked Brackenpaw. Thornpaw might be dignified and obedient, but she knew Brackenpaw was smart.

With Dustpelt and Thornpaw seated to the side, Bluestar gestured Cinderkit forward. "From this moment on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Cinderpaw. Sandstorm, you have learned much about obedience and self-control from your mentor, Whitestorm, and I hope you will pass down all your qualities and skills to Cinderpaw."

The pale ginger she-cat stepped forward with her tail held high in pride. She bent to touch noses only to have Cinderpaw smash it with her own nose. The over-eager and newly named apprentice flattened her ears in embarrassment and licked the startled warrior's nose in apology. Sandstorm gave an awkward purr, and Foxface couldn't help but purr as well. _Good luck with that one, Sandstorm_ , she thought, remembering Cinderpaw's accident in the books and feeling the amusement drain out of her.

She watched the pale ginger and the blue-and-cream tortoiseshell settle down beside Thornpaw and Dustpelt. Foxface's gaze flickered towards Dustpelt's, who was stared at her as if to say, "You'll be sitting over here, too, soon." Foxface glanced at Tigerclaw, before looking up expectantly at Bluestar, a part of her hoping that she wouldn't be called out to become a mentor. _But I have to become a mentor_ , she thought _, I can't be a deputy without an apprentice._

The blue-gray queen gestured towards Brackenkit. "From this moment on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Brackenpaw."

The pale brown tabby tom glanced towards her and his eyes flashed with excitement. Foxface smiled warmly at him before she looked up at Bluestar, realizing that the queen was watching her. Foxface heard someone in the crowd shift and realized that it was coming from Tigerclaw.

Finally, Bluestar gestured with her tail. Foxface though she saw her shoulders slump in defeat. "Foxface," she meowed, "you have learned much about the warrior code from your parents, from Lionheart, and from Darkstripe. I hope you pass down your skills and nobility to Brackenpaw."

A flood of relief passed through Foxface and she padded up to Brackenpaw, touching his nose gently. The tom carefully returned the touch and Foxface couldn't help but purr at him. _You'll make a good apprentice,_ she thought. Brackenpaw may not be as dignified as Thornpaw was, but he was thoughtful and that was what Foxface cared about. She gestured with her tail for Brackenpaw to follow and sat beside Thornpaw but left enough space for Brackenpaw to sit and mutter to his sibling.

The Clan burst into cheers. " _Thornpaw, Cinderpaw, Brackenpaw!_ "

Foxface glanced at Brackenpaw and purred when she found the apprentice ducking his head in embarrassment. As the yowls began to die down, she nosed Brackenpaw gently with her nose and gestured for him to head towards the freshkill pile.

"You aren't going anywhere until you eat a mouse first," she meowed, flashing him a smile. "You will need to know what each piece of prey smells like if you hope to be able to properly hunt."

The pale brown tabby nodded and quickly dashed off to the freshkill pile. Foxface watched him with fondly and glanced around, wondering what she could have her apprentice do today. A familiar yowl startled her and she looked around to see Brownfoot - er, Runningwind - heading towards her, a friendly smile on his face.

"It's good to see you finally have an apprentice!" he meowed. "Lionheart would be proud if he saw you now."

Memory of the yellow tom flashed through her mind, and Foxface recalled the day when she had first learned to hunt in Tallpines and decided suddenly that that was where she'd take Brackenpaw. It would be perfect; if the tom messed up he would not be disturbing the other hunters. "Hey, Runningwind," she meowed, putting those thoughts aside for the moment. "What are you planning to do with your apprentice today?"

"Oh," he said, flicking his tail nervously and glancing away, excitement shining in his eyes. "I was thinking we could take our apprentices to tallpines. You know, as a nod to the old days."

Foxface blinked in surprise and purred. "Sounds perfect." She sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "We should wait for Brackenpaw to finish, first."

Runningwind nodded and settled down, wrapping his tail around his paws, and his apprentices sat down sulkily, his ears flat and eye glaring at anywhere but Foxface. Foxface noticed the attitude and remembered what the apprentice had told her back before she was made a warrior.

 _"She's barely been here for a moon!" meowed Swiftpaw, a sneer in his voice. "And what was all that nonsense about their ancestors being Clan cats? Firepaw doesn't look anything like Tigerclaw!"_

 _"Shut up, or they'll hear you!" hissed Brightpaw. "Look, it's like what Bluestar said. They were brought to us by StarClan. We can't turn them away because they're kin. They belong with us."_

 _"They don't belong anywhere. They aren't even half-Clan cats. They're more rogue and kittypet than anything else." There was disgust in his mew._

She looked away, fur ruffled. It seemed Swiftpaw's opinion hadn't changed in the one moon she had been a warrior, and Foxface supposed she couldn't fault him for that. Her apprentice ceremony had barely lasted for a moon; everyone had a right to be jealous of that, especially since Bluestar was StarClan bent on only making apprentices out of those who did amazing or awe inspiring deeds. Such as fighting a fox or helping to drive out ShadowClan cats without any physical harm to one's own self. Really, smart cats like Foxface basically cheated when it came down to it.

 _Another example of poor leadership skills on the part of Bluestar_ , she thought, suddenly wondering how this was going to affect Brackenpaw's and Swiftpaw's relationship. She made a mental note to teach Brackenpaw some basic fighting moves, ones he could use on a larger opponent. If Swiftpaw was jealous of her, she didn't want him getting away with taking it out on Brackenpaw.

"I was thinking," said Runningwind suddenly, his voice crashing into her thoughts. "Since no one has been to the Lion's Trap in a few days, we should probably check the place out for any rabbits. I'm sure the Clan could use it."

Foxface felt her claws dig into the earth, memories of swiping at rabbits rushing through her mind. Foxface twitched her whiskers, frowning. "I thought Graypaw was hunting there."

"He hunts too far south and west to be anywhere near the Lion's Trap," meowed Runningwind, sounding hopeful. "We could use the freshkill."

They were barely a moon into Greenleaf, and Foxface doubted that they would be expecting any freak snow storms anytime soon. She smiled to herself and gave Runningwind a serious nod. "Sure, for old time's sake."

The brown tom looked like he was going to explode. "Sounds great!" he meowed, before turning to Swiftpaw. "Now you can see a real warrior in action!"

Swiftpaw did not look like he found that news to be very exciting and actually looked dismayed by it, but Runningwind was already turning away from him to address Foxface again. Foxface felt like she was missing some key information and wondered why Swiftpaw could find that to be disagreeable... and Runningwind to find this news to be the highlight of his day. A small part of her wondered if she should be asking Dustpelt to come along just in case, but she shushed it, deciding that this wasn't _that kind_ of situation, though the idea of Runningwind and Dustpelt duking it out for her made her purr. She barely managed to suppress it, looking away and towards Brackenpaw.

They were soon heading out of the camp and towards the twolegplace border. Foxface made sure to halt the patrol every once and a while to force Brackenpaw to become more aware of his surroundings.

"Tell me what you smell," she meowed, glancing towards Runningwind, who was waiting patiently, and Swiftpaw, who was waiting impatiently.

Aware of his audience, the pale brown tabby tom hesitated, lifting his nose thoughtfully and turning around in circles. Foxface stifled a purr of amusement.

"Try smelling into the wind," she meowed after a few heartbeat of nothing. "You can't hope to smell anything when the wind is blowing it away from you."

Brackenpaw's eyes widened. "Then how am I suppose to smell my enemy if he's downwind of me?"

"You can't. You will have to keep an eye or ear out for him or her."

Looking mildly alarmed at this news, he furrowed his brow and began looking around more cautiously, his ears swiveling back and forth.

"Now, don't make me keep repeating myself," meowed Foxface, earning a surprised and confused look from Brackenpaw. She smiled. "Tell me what you smell."

Looking sheepish, Brackenpaw settled down and began to try and explain what he was smelling. "I smell something in that direction," he confessed, pointing with his paw towards the scent of mouse. He looked at Foxface expectantly but she merely flickered an ear, remaining silent. He sniffed again. "I smell... ShadowClan?"

Foxface was amused but she stifled it and forced a stern expression on her face. "Are you asking me or are you telling me?"

Brackenpaw's fur ruffled in embarrassment and he licked his chest. "I smell ShadowClan," he reiterated, "and nothing else." He looked at her nervously and she couldn't help but purr.

"Can you identify the first smell?" she meowed.

He hesitated, glancing around her side to the other two toms. "Uhm, is it a mouse?"

Foxface raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly corrected himself. "It's a mouse."

"Correct," she meowed, twitching her whiskers in amusement, "and don't worry. You'll become more confident in your nose as the moons pass."

"Can we go now?" meowed Swiftpaw in irritation, which only earned him an annoyed glare from Foxface. Runningwind suddenly looked nervous, glancing between Foxface and Swiftpaw.

"Yes," Foxface meowed stiffly before Runningwind could respond, " _we_ can go, but _you_ can go over there and catch that mouse."

The black-and-white apprentice looked shocked and he looked sharply at Runningwind, as if expecting the tom to say something in his defense, but Runningwind was looking nervously at Foxface. Realizing he was going to get no help from Runningwind, he growled to himself and crouched, slinking across the ground.

Foxface put a tail on Brackenpaw's shoulder. "Pay close attention to Swiftpaw and try to track him without moving from that spot."

Brackenpaw nodded and furrowed his brow in concentration, sinking down on his paws in the hopes of being able to see more of the patched tom as he padded through the undergrowth. A soft thud reached their ears and, after a few heartbeats, Swiftpaw padded out of the undergrowth carrying a fat mouse.

"Excellent work, Swiftpaw," meowed Foxface.

"Yes, good job, Swiftpaw," meowed Runningwind a heartbeat later, earning a frown from Foxface.

The massive she-cat rose to her paws and gestured with her tail for them all to follow, a quarter moon of leading the dawn patrol and the lack of assertiveness from Runningwind making her naturally take over the patrol. She padded away from the wind and curved around until the wind blew towards them with the faint scent of rabbit. She halted and gestured for Brackenpaw to walk up to her. His paws landed softly, cushioned by the soft and wet pine needles.

"Tell me what you can hear," she meowed.

The pale brown apprentice paused, sniffing the air thoughtfully first. He looked at her in confusion. "I smell?" he asked cautiously.

Foxface couldn't help but smile at that and shook her head. "Hearing can sometimes be more important than smell. Smell is carried on the wind and sometimes the wind is blown in a direction away from you, so you cannot smell it. But sound is not controlled by the wind. More often than not, it can travel uninterrupted in any direction, allowing you and me to hear it despite whichever way the wind is blowing. However, loud noises can mask smaller noises, so it's good to be able to recognize all noises distinctly and separately. Make sense?"

Brackenpaw's brows furrowing in concentration and confusion, but he nodded as if he understood. His ears swiveled, struggling to interpret the noises around him. Foxface kept her own ears out for noise, wondering how much the pale brown apprentice could hear that she could not.

"I hear the wind in the leaves over ahead," he meowed, glancing at her. She nodded, stealing a brief glance up into the trees. He glanced around. "I hear someone swishing their tail through the grass." He looked pointedly at Foxface's tail.

She purred and wrapped her tail around her paws. "Go on."

"I hear," he said, thoughtful and growing quiet. "I hear... a thud."

Foxface had heard it, too, and she looked towards Runningwind and Swiftpaw. "You heard it, too, I presume?"

"Yeah, I heard it," Swiftpaw said quickly, before his mentor could say anything, fur bristling in anger. "What about it?"

Foxface gave the older apprentice another annoyed look, before turning instead to Runningwind. "You heard it as well?" she asked.

"Yes," he meowed, glancing at Swiftpaw with a nervous flick of his ear, his eyes practically begging the apprentice to behave. Finally, he looked away to ask Foxface, "what is it?"

Foxface purred. "It's the sound of rabbits moving in the undergrowth. They don't walk like we do, and it causes them to make a lot of thumping noise." She lifted her head towards the wind and sniffed, estimating how many different rabbit smells she could detect. "They have sensitive hearing, so we have to move around them quietly."

"We aren't going to run at them?" asked Brackenpaw, looking at the others in confusion.

"No, _you_ are not," meowed Foxface, playfully running her tail over his head with a purr, before turning to Runningwind. "Do you think your apprentice is up for it?"

"Of course I am!" snapped Swiftpaw.

Foxface ignored him, her gaze locked on Runningwind's. "Well?"

The silvered brown tabby nodded. "Yes, of course," he meowed hurriedly, glancing at Swiftpaw who seemed ready to hiss.

Foxface nodded. "Good." She gestured for Brackenpaw to follow her before giving Swiftpaw one last look. "Gives us some time to get into position."

Swiftpaw nodded angrily, and Foxface felt like she could _feel_ his teeth grinding with barely held back anger. Runningwind put a tail-tip on his shoulder and flinched when his apprentices brushed him off. With a sigh, Runningwind padded after Foxface as she lead the patrol around to Lion's Trap. When she reached the familiar slope and they settled into position at the top of the slope, she turned to Brackenpaw.

"We'll hide in the bushes up here until the rabbits begin to spill into the trap. When we step out to throw the rabbits back down, you need to stay on the slope. Don't follow us down. If any rabbits come towards you, throw them back down the slope and we'll get them, okay?"

Brackenpaw nodded firmly, scurrying under a bush to watch and wait. When he started to sneak towards the slope to peer down, Foxface tugged on his tail and he slumped, shuffling backwards under the bush. Foxface purred in amusement, glancing towards Runningwind. The silvered brown tabby seemed anxious, watching for the rabbits down below. A triumphant yowl sounded in the forest and suddenly Foxface heard the thundering of rabbit feet pounding through the forest. She blinked in shock.

 _There must be tonnes of them..._

Brown, black and white pelts suddenly exploded in all directions out of the forest. There were about twenty in the first wave, half of them too small to climb up the slope to the top. For a heartbeat, Foxface wondered if perhaps there were too many for the four of them to handle.

 _How many weeks has it been since anyone hunted down here?_ she wondered briefly, before pushing the thought aside. She quickly glanced around to regain her bearings, noticing that Runningwind seemed frozen at the top of the slope and Brackenpaw was watching the stampede of rabbits with awe.

"Brackenpaw," she yowled over the sound of panicking and terrified rabbits, "stay there!"

Brackenpaw's eyes widened. "But you said-!"

"Trust me!" she meowed. "Runningwind, we have to cull the herd!"

The ThunderClan warrior looked at her in confusion, unfamiliar with the twoleg term, but Foxface couldn't stop to explain. She gave one mighty leap and rapidly fell down into the center of the rabbit swarm. Squeaks and squeals of pain and shock resounded up and down the slopes, but Foxface ignored the sound, yowling loudly to scatter the rabbits and force them to flee.

"Foxface, wait!" said Runningwind, his yowl raised in horror. "Swiftpaw!"

"Protect Swiftpaw!" she roared back.

Then she was lost in the rhythmic slashing of claws, the feel of flesh scoring under her paws, and blood in her mouth. She was a whirlwind, never staying too long in the bite to confirm a kill and crushing, clawing anything that came underpaw. She was vaguely aware of Brackenpaw watching from the top of the slope and of Runningwind yowling somewhere to her left.

The rabbits where cat-sized or smaller, their sharp claws digging into the earth and back legs kicking out in defense. She saw those back legs flash flashing and bobtails flicker in the whirlwind of madness, and she slashed out with claws at retreating flanks to pull the forepaws out from under a rabbit and protect herself from a glancing blow. It felt like minutes had passed before all the rabbits had either been trampled to death or had rushed out of the trap. She felt bruised and battered, but was glad to still be alive.

"Foxface!" meowed Brackenpaw in relief, delicately stepping around the trampled dead and dying to reach his mentor. "You're okay!"

Foxface nodded, realizing she out of breath and lifted her head skyward to open up her wind pipes. She caught sight of Runningwind and Swiftpaw on the otherside of the clearing, both upright and awake. She was shocked to see that Runningwind was yelling at the smaller black and white tom, who had shrunk in a trembling crouch, eyes wide and not a mark on his flank.

"What were you thinking?" meowed Runningwind, sounding as if he had finished a long speech, his flanks heaving. "You _knew_ we couldn't handle that many rabbits! What were you trying to do? Show off!?"

Foxface hesitated to get involved, decided that Swiftpaw deserved a good reprimanding for it, and turned to Brackenpaw.

"Well," she meowed, licking her lips of blood. "Had enough fun for one day?"

Brackenpaw sat down and stared at her, marveling that she could treat such a potentially dangerous situation with a casual dismissive remark. "Is this how it's like to be a warrior?"

Foxface purred. "I learned long ago that one should expect the unexpected and..." She paused for dramatic effect, a smile splitting her face from ear to ear. "...to always be prepared for it."

Brackenpaw smiled back. "I want to be a warrior just like you," he meowed.

At this declaration, Foxface suddenly flushed with embarrassment. "Aw, there are better warriors in the Clan than me. Take Runningwind for example. He might not be a good mentor, but he's loyal to ThunderClan and cares deeply for every cat in our Clan."

Brackenpaw nodded. "Yeah, but I want to be like you. You aren't afraid of anything!"

Feeling like that statement did not sound right coming from Brackenpaw, Foxface decided to correct the tom, her voice suddenly brimming with anger. "I was afraid when you and your siblings decided to leave the Clan and chase after a kit-killer."

Brackenpaw flattened his ears and looked shocked. He dipped his head in apology, ears flat.

Immediately regretting her words, Foxface ran her tail over his head and said softly, "But that's in the past. I'm sure you'll never do something like that again." She watched him carefully, hoping that she could come to trust this young apprentice not to do something mousebrained.

The young brown tabby looked determined. "Of course," he meowed.

Foxface nodded. "Good." She glanced towards Runningwind and Swiftpaw, her voice becoming quieter. "I hope our relationship never ends up like that."

The younger warrior and apprentice watched as Runningwind finished his admonishment, his fur fluffed up in embarrassment. He finally turned away and padded towards them.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Foxface," he meowed. "I'm sure it will never happen again."

Foxface shook her head. "No, I should have been more careful. I could have died back there and I shoudn't have put myself in such unnecessary danger. I should have thought of your apprentice first." She glanced towards said apprentice, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to turn into a rock from the way he was crouched. "Runningwind, is there any reason why Swiftpaw might not like me so much?"

Runningwind looked shocked and immediately denied it. "He doesn't dislike you, Foxface."

Foxface gave him an unimpressed look. "You're right. He _hates_ me. He doesn't want anything to do with me."

Runningwind struggled to respond to this. "He doesn't hate you, Foxface."

Foxface gave him a sideways look and shrugged. "Well, whatever you want to call it, I think it needs to be resolved before Swiftpaw is made a warrior or it might interfere with his duties." She turned away from him and looked at Brackenpaw. "Let's bury as many as we can and try to carry the rest back to the Clan." She glanced backwards towards a crestfallen Runningwind. "We'll see you back at camp, Runningwind."

* * *

 **A/N: Swiftpaw and Runningwind's characterization were only hinted at before. I believe Runningwind's started after Bark and Lionheart and him all returned from their first hunting trip. Then there's Swiftpaw. Why does he not like Foxpaw so much when she's a day away from being made a warrior? I can't believe it took so long to actually get to this point. It feels like forever ago when I started their character arc. Time to finish it...! In the next chapter!  
**

 **Gosh, I'm so glad I am writing this story. I never knew I could make so many mistakes in storytelling. Gosh darn it. Welp, I'm sure there are more mistakes I can learn about so... let's keep going! XD**

 **Until Monday!**

 **Also, I posted something called "Foxpaw" in my scraps section on deviantart. You can find me at someoneimsure dot deviantart dot com. It's to help some of you guys to get a very basic idea of what color her coat is.**


	19. Fire and Ice pt 7

**A/N: Prepare for someone to die this chapter. Also, look forward to a couple of warrior ceremonies and a name changing ceremony! Yes, you get to see Foxy's new name this chapter! *sits back and waits for the chaos*  
**

 **cityskyliinee: Yeah, I've been trying to avoid that. Graystripe just doesn't have the strickness necessary in a mentor, so giving him an apprentice doesn't make sense.  
**

 **lemon: Yup! That's probably because the chapter isn't as busy as most of the others. I usually have like 5-8 characters interacting at once or something like that. A sort of calm before the storm. :P I'd be interested in whatever you managed to post. I'm following you now. XD  
**

 **AnonChan1: Yup, that's true. It's only a leader specific quality. And yup about Foxy. (B) Oh? I'm kinda confused by this statement. Because the characters don't have flaws they aren't Mary Sues? (1) A new word! Yay! (2) Totally! (3) Hmm, more clues about TigerXFox in this chapter, actually. Why does he want her? That's a question for Forest of Secrets. (4) True. True. (5) Yup. One of the few things Foxy will murder someone over. Don't touch anyone she has adopted, man. It will end badly for you. (6) Runningwind is an admirer, not a crush or potential love interest. The Clan's relationship to Tigerclaw is the same as Runningwind's relationship to Foxy. It's all about respect. (7) Ah, yes. The rabbits. (8) Oh, Swiftpaw hates her. Runningwind just won't see it.  
**

 **Fakira: Thanks for checking out the fanart! And there's a question I will never answer, lol. As for FeatehrXCrow... I never really saw it. It felt more like a FireXSpotted relationship in the book and less of a real one. (B) Hm, I'm remembering more about Silverstream the more you talk about her. That certainly sounds like her... and I kind of like her a little less now? Well, uhm. (C) Pretty much. XD (D) Hmmm. Maybe. XD  
**

 **Guest: We shall see, hm? XD  
**

* * *

Firepaw almost couldn't believe it. He walked into the camp, right after the dawn patrol, and found that the freshkill pile was so full of rabbits it looked like it belonged in WindClan camp.

"No more hunting for today or tomorrow," yowled Tigerclaw. "We have Foxface and her apprentice to thank for this feast."

"Runningwind and I helped, too," meowed Swiftpaw, fur bristling, but wilted under a sharp look Runningwind gave him.

Whitestorm spoke up, amusement in his eyes. "If you keep this up, Foxface, your apprentice will be a warrior before the next moon."

Firepaw head snapped around to look at Whitestorm in shock, almost missing Foxface's response. Foxface couldn't be that great of a mentor, could she?

The massive she-cat lifted her head with an angry frown. "He wasn't the one who caught all these rabbits. He had to stand back or the whole herd would have crushed them, no thanks to Swiftpaw. Besides," - and here, her anger drained away and she seemed almost like she was sternly reprimanding the senior warrior, much to Firepaw's shock - "it took moons to learn what I know and it will take moons for Brackenpaw to learn everything he knows. It shouldn't matter how much prey he catches or how many battles he's fought in - it's what lays inside of our hearts and minds that matters most of all. Loyalty, honor and rigid obedience to the warrior code. He will not become a warrior until he has learned to understand those, and _that_ will take more than a moon."

Startled, Whitestorm stiffened and bowed his head. "Wiser words could not have been spoken." He raised his head. "I was only joking."

Foxface bodily flinched and grimaced, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. "I didn't notice. Sorry. I'm just tired of every cat thinking that's all that matters."

The white warrior lifted his head and purred. "You'll make a great mentor for many apprentices to come."

Firepaw watched them and suddenly felt a pang of longing. He wished they could treat him like that, not to mention that he wished he had his own apprentice.

 _Surely a cat so wise can't be evil?_ said a small voice in his head.

 _Then why is she so against Graypaw?_ he thought, bristling. No, he wasn't about to forgive her for what she was doing to Graypaw. Or how she was working together with Tigerclaw to do it.

He turned his attention to the rabbits and noticed with a grimace how they all looked. Most were crushed to death, making them look flat or smashed. A few of them seemed to have bled to death from various wounds. Firepaw couldn't help but shudder. He recognized Foxface's handiwork; she had killed more than half of the rabbits present. It didn't sit well with him, especially since he wanted nothing more than to compete with her on this. It was like she was completely out of his league.

 _How can a she-cat who is so warm and friendly be so bloodthirsty when it comes to hunting?_ he wondered, because surely there were cleaner ways to do it.

 _Or perhaps that just the kittypet inside of you talking_ , said the little voice. _No one else seems to care._

Firepaw glanced around at the awestruck warriors and apprentice, but realized that there were some other cats in the Clans who did care. Graypaw glared at Foxface's back with a burning hostility and Swiftpaw looked angrily at his paws, avoiding looking around at his Clanmates. He suddenly felt some small amount of comfort.

 _Oh, and how does Ravenfeather feel?_ said the voice.

Firepaw flinched at the thought, remembering that he, Ravenfeather and Foxface were the only ones who knew of Tigerclaw's treachery.

 _She's joined his side_ , Firepaw told himself, realizing that he would be the only one to protect Ravenfeather when he returns. He suddenly felt sorry for Ravenfeather. _He's going to be devastated._

* * *

The moon was high and the ground was wet with a previous rainstorm, one of the worsts that Firepaw had ever seen. It seemed to rain every day now, and Firepaw felt like Foxface getting an apprentice was the cause - though that was stupid.

In the full moon's light, Firepaw sat outside of the apprentice's den, watching Foxface claw through the freshkill pile and spread out the prey to help it dry and prevent rot. She moved tiredly, carelessly clawing prey up out of the freshkill pile, her face dark and turned down. Firepaw felt strangely relaxed, as if knowing the she-cat wouldn't be able to see him even if she knew where he was. He was asleep in his den, after all.

Which made him wonder why he thought that this really was Foxface clawing out pieces of prey and freshkill from the pile. Or that there had been rainstorms for the last few days.

Plus, tonight wasn't a gathering, so why the full moon?

Wait, wasn't it a full moon earlier?

The moon seemed to be waning right before his eyes, a dark shadow quickly engulfing the moon. A black shadow seemed to fall over the whole of the forest, before it swept over the camp. Firepaw watched as Foxface jerked away from the freshkill and gazed upwards towards the moon. With a cry of shock, she made a mighty leap over the top of the wall and disappeared up the ravine wall.

And then the whole forest turned red. Every puddle of water suddenly became a puddle of blood, and the entire camp was covered in them. Firepaw yowled in shock as he realized that he was sinking in one of those puddles. The stench of blood and death seemed to come from everywhere and he struggled to breathe.

A familiar scent hit his nose, sweet and sharp, contrasting with the horror around him.

" _The face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood."_

Firepaw jerked awake. He immediately realized that there was something wrong with the mostly empty apprentice den and the moonlight filtering through the ceiling. There was a cold spot where Graypaw was supposed to be. He looked around in the dim moonlight caused by the waxing moon, and realized that Brightpaw and Swiftpaw were missing as well.

 _So is Brackenpaw_ , he thought with a chill. Swiftpaw and Graypaw had both made their problems with Foxface well known. Were they taking it out on Foxface's apprentice? He rushed out of the den and blinked with relief to see Brackenpaw was alright, with Whitestorm, Runningwind and Foxface beside him.

"If we aren't back before dawn," meowed Foxface to her apprentices, "make sure that Tigerclaw and Bluestar hear of this."

"Are you sure we shouldn't bring more?" asked Whitestorm.

Foxface shook her head. "Too many would alert them to how many warriors we actually have. Better to keep our numbers a secret."

Runningwind shuffled quietly beside them, looking noticeably uncomfortable and unhappy. He noticed Firepaw and meowed, "Firepaw's awake."

Foxface blinked and looked towards Firepaw. She hesitated before waving with her tail for him to come over.

"What's going on?" the fiery tom asked, glancing at Runningwind and Whitestorm. An uneasy feeling prickled in his paws and he knew Swiftpaw had something to do with it; Runningwind had a guilty look on his face and looked away when they locked eyes.

Whitestorm was less quiet. "Graypaw is leading Swiftpaw and Brightpaw into WindClan territory," the white tom meowed. "Brackenpaw says they are planning to spy on the rogues."

Firepaw glanced at Brackenpaw, who nodded seriously. "I heard them talking last night, when you were asleep."

Firepaw felt a stab of hurt. Did Graypaw not trust him enough to include him in their plans?

"Will you come with us?" meowed Foxface, sounding almost hopeful.

Firepaw didn't know what to say and glanced at Whitestorm. The white tom blinked his amber eyes and Firepaw realized that he wanted him to come with them. Firepaw nodded.

"Good," meowed Foxface, sounding relieved. "We'll see you in a little while, Brackenpaw."

Brackenpaw nodded eagerly. "I know you're going to be okay."

Firepaw couldn't help but dislike the faith Brackenpaw had in Foxface; it reminded him too much of the faith that the Clan had in Tigerclaw.

Foxface waved her tail and led the patrol through the bramble tunnel and up the ravine. They rushed through the grass, almost silently, as they made their way to Fourtrees. None of them even bothered to sniff for the missing apprentices, and they reached the rise to Fourtrees within a minute of leaving the camp. Firepaw felt like he'd never run so far in his life, his gaze searching for Graypaw.

"Look for their scent," Foxface said. "Runningwind and I will wait here for you both."

Firepaw realized she wanted him to help find Graypaw and immediately put his nose to the ground. He hoped he could find them first but today was not his day.

"I found them," meowed Whitestorm, lifting his head and pointing towards the moor. "They went around Fourtrees."

"You lead, Firepaw," meowed Foxface, with a meaningful glance at Firepaw that the young tom couldn't understand. "You know his scent best."

Feeling like he was going to be leading them all into a trap, he rushed forward. The scent lead them around the great valley and the four oak trees and to the place where the WindClan and ThunderClan territory were only separated by two foxlengths of ShadowClan territory, the only part of ShadowClan territory that touched borders with Fourtrees. Firepaw hesitated to lead them across and Whitestorm took the lead, guiding them into the tall grasses of the moor.

"The heather is going to cover their smell," meowed Whitestorm. "If they tried to make it to WindClan camp, the rogues would have spotted them on their way up the slopes."

"We don't know if they even have patrols," meowed Foxface. "They might not even have guards. We haven't had any interaction with at all. We know nothing about them."

"They might not even be here," meowed Runningwind, sounding hopeful, but Foxface quieted him with a sharp look.

"This is Brokenstar we're talking about. He would never abandon prime territory like this unless something drove him out."

Firepaw felt chilled by her words and sniffed the hair, almost glad that he could still smell the stench of the rogues.

Foxface lifted her head over the grass stalks and looking around thoughtfully before ducking her head down. "We can't hope to find them in this wild grass. We will have to wait and listen for trouble and hope we can make it there in time."

Runningwind flicked his ear. "What if they already ran into trouble and are bleeding in the grass somewhere?"

Firepaw saw a flicker of fear and worry in Foxface's glowing gold eyes and heard her claws scrape the ground. "We can't hope to find them in these grasses," she meowed firmly. "Not if we don't want to attract unwanted attention. We will have to wait."

Firepaw could tell that none of them were happy with this idea but the three warriors settled down anyway. Firepaw forced his muscles to relax and looked around, wishing he had Foxface's size so he could peer over the grasses. It would make him feel better if he knew more about the territory around them. He practically jumped when a shriek pierced the air. In an instant, the patrol was bounding through the grass towards the sound, and Firepaw could see briefly over the wave of rippling grass with each bounding leap.

In a few heartbeats, the grasses suddenly opened up into a clearing of flat dust and was furiously fighting with a giant white tom with flashing demon-like red and pink eyes, wearing a black collar with silver dog teeth studded into it. Firepaw was barely aware of Foxface leaping at the white tom, bowling him over as her teeth connected with his face and her claws striking his shoulder. Blood dripped from her mouth and his blood dripped from the wound on his face, getting into his pink eye.

"Swiftpaw, quit sitting there like a lump and fight!" snarled Foxface, before the tom lunged at her and they twisted and writhed as they fought.

Firepaw heard other sounds of fighting and realized that Graypaw was nearby, fighting off a collarless broad-chested rogue that could only be ex-ShadowClan. The dark ginger she-cat and the small pale gray tom were evenly matched. Firepaw lunged at her, sinking his claws into her haunches to unbalance her with his weight as Graypaw got the upper paw and slammed his paws into her chest, winding her. She went limp, and the two toms released her, where she went yowling into the grasses. Graypaw nodded his thanks, turned and disappeared into the grasses.

The once silent grasslands were filled with the hissing and snarling of cats. He threw himself into the next fight, coming face-to-face with an unfamiliar brown tom with green eyes. The two lunged at each other, and Firepaw used his speed and skill to his advantage, quickly overpowering his enemy and sending him running. Or so Firepaw thought, as he realized that the tom had decided to just switch opponents on him. Firepaw landed on the tom's back and bit his shoulder. The rogue yowled and ripped himself away, facing Firepaw once more, his tail lashing.

"Run, rogue!" Firepaw spat, before lunging again.

Suddenly a loud wail filled the clearing. "No!" wailed Graypaw. "Whitestorm!"

A few seconds later, Firepaw heard Foxface's horrified wail. "He wasn't supposed to die!"

"DarkClan!" roared an unfamiliar voice. "We have the advantage! Kill them!"

Suddenly, Firepaw discovered that he was no longer fighting the brown tom as he was ripped away by the giant white tom.

"No you don't!" snarled Foxface, and Firepaw realized a heartbeat later that she was speaking to the one with his teeth in his neck. Then the massive tom found himself bowled over by the massive she-cat.

"You're really starting to annoy me," snarled the giant tom as he rose to his paws, his muscles rippling under his moon-white fur.

Firepaw turned around to attack the white tom but found his side hammered by the determined brown tom. Firepaw found himself on his back and let out a roar of fury when the brown tom tried to go in for the kill. Firepaw slashed his face, causing him to jerk back with a yowl of pain, blood dripping into his eyes. With a wail of terror, the brown tom turned and fled, rushing blindly through the grass. Firepaw twisted around, looking for the giant white tom.

"Iceclaw!" yowled the dark red tabby from before, looking like she wanted nothing more than to flee. "It's over!"

The giant white tom snarled. "Never!" he snarled and suddenly his claws connected with Foxface's neck, sending blood spraying across the clearing. The massive she-cat didn't even seem to notice as she and the white tom clashed, her teeth snapping inches from his neck, trying to find a spot around his collar. Fury blazed in her gold eyes and Firepaw realized that she was going in for the kill.

 _They'll kill each other,_ he thought, watching with fascination as the two massive warriors fought. It seemed to drag on for hours, with neither slowing down despite their wounds. Eventually, the loss of blood seemed to finally catch up to them both. Foxface staggered before finally collapsing from her wounds, while the big white tom stood, legs trembling and panting, his face and throat a mess of blood. Worried he might strike her while she was down, Firepaw lunged to her defense, but the white tom didn't notice, unable to see anyone except Foxface.

"I've won, she-cat," he snarled. "A pity I couldn't have made you my mate."

Foxface glared at him. "This isn't over, Iceclaw."

Iceclaw shook his head, almost mockingly sad. "You're already dead, she-cat. You just don't know it yet." Then he turned and fled.

Firepaw felt like all his fur was standing on end as he padded to Foxface's side, looking over her wounds. Her throat was soaked in blood and it dripped down into her chest fur, turning her white throat fur red. He felt unnerved at the sight of it.

"Foxface?"

Those angry gold eyes blinked and Firepaw was relieved to see warmth in them again. "Firepaw," she meowed, trying to struggle to her paws but they gave out from under her. She looked around, her eyes clear and focused and brows furrowed in thought. "Get Whitestorm back to camp. He needs to be buried. Get the others out of here."

"What about you?" he meowed.

Foxface glanced around. "Runningwind," she meowed firmly. "Bring him here."

Firepaw didn't know if it was smart to leave the weakened she-cat in the dirt and rushed away to get Runningwind. A few heartbeats later, he returned with Runningwind. The silvered brown tabby started shaking when he saw her wounds and he touched her nose, pain in his eyes. Firepaw realized that Runningwind knew that Foxface was dying.

"What is it?" he meowed, his voice growing soft with loss.

"I need you to take Whitestorm's body back to camp," she meowed. She glanced at Firepaw. "Firepaw fought like a warrior today. He has proven that he is more than capable of being a warrior." She grew thoughtful. "Graypaw avenged his mentor today..."

Firepaw looked around in confusion and saw a dead gray tabby lying in the grounds a short distance away. With a shudder, he looked away.

"He is ready to be made a warrior as well," Foxface said firmly. "But this little trip of theirs shouldn't go unpunished."

Runningwind nodded, his tail lashing over his back in concern. "I'll tell Bluestar." He paused. "We can take you back to camp, too, Foxface."

"Leave me," she meowed, tiredly resting her head in her paws. "I need to rest."

Runningwind glanced at Firepaw, horrified. "We'll want to bury you too."

Foxface had closed her eyes, but at this announcement she opened them again and gave Runningwind a knowing look. "I'll be fine," she meowed. "I'm not going to die."

Firepaw wondered if that was really true and his gaze landed on the giant red wound on her throat.

"Or perhaps I'm already dead," Foxface amended, staring at the ground. She flicked an ear at Runningwind. "Either way, you're wasting time. There could be another patrol coming soon. I'll be fine - you have to go. You'll be burdened enough with Whitestorm."

"But we can't just leave you," meowed Runningwind. "What will Dustpelt think?"

Foxface purred, but it sounded like she was making liquid bubbles. "Tell him I'll be back soon. Now go."

Runningwind hesitated, bowed his head. "I'll remember you, Foxface. We all will."

"Go," she meowed, sounding more than just tired of her injuries, her gaze flickering skyward to the waxing moon. Then she closed her eyes and became very still. Firepaw stepped forward and felt her breath on his paws, feeling a mixture of relief and worry.

Runningwind made a choked noise and turned away, padding back towards the others. Firepaw hesitated, kneeling beside Foxface.

"Don't die while I'm gone," muttered the she-cat, looking at him with one gold eye. "I put a lot of effort into trying to make you a warrior. You're going to need an apprentice. We can't have Tigerclaw die and not have a deputy ready to replace him, can we?"

Firepaw's mind whirled. She was dying and all she could think about was Tigerclaw? "What about Brackenpaw?" meowed Firepaw. "What am I going to tell him?"

"Tell him I'll be back and that he better be ready for the dawn patrol," she meowed firmly. "I don't want him forgetting how to use his nose and ears."

Firepaw shook his head. "You're _dying,_ Foxface. Don't you realize this? You're not coming back."

Foxface gave him an unimpressed look. "Tell Brackenpaw that I want him ready to climb trees before the Gathering. A cat can't be a cat if he doesn't know how to balance on a branch."

Firepaw stared at her, unable to help but feel impressed with the she-cat. She was dying and she was acting like she was going to get up again in a few seconds and everything was going to be alright. Is that what it was like to be a warrior? To be unafraid to join your warrior ancestors? Firepaw couldn't help but wish he could do that. He felt a wave of guilt crash through him and he knelt beside her, pressing his face into her shoulder fur.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Foxface," he meowed, his voice whispering a soft goodbye. He stepped back, throat choking with grief. "I hope you die before they come. I don't want them to hurt you."

"I'll be fine," she meowed. "Go."

Firepaw turned to look at her, but when he glanced at her face he realized that she was no longer breathing. The faintest scent of marsh was on the air and he realized that the patrol was coming sooner than they'd thought. With a choked sound, he rose to his paws and ran after the rest of the patrol. He couldn't tell if he could hear yowling on the wind, the wind sounded loud and angry enough.

 _We should never have left her behind_ , he thought, _this isn't what a Clan would do._

His heart skipped a beat when he saw Runningwind and Swiftpaw struggling to carry the dead white warrior between them, and he slowed until he was at the back of the patrol and found himself shoulder to shoulder with Graypaw.

"Where's Foxface?" Graypaw asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Firepaw flattened his ears, unsure of how to break it to his friend. He hadn't liked her in the end, after all, and he was worried he'd say something stupid. "She's dead."

"Well," he meowed slowly, searching for something to say. "It was going to happen eventually."

Firepaw flinched at the toneless words and suddenly felt the need to defend the dead she-cat to him. "She was a real warrior, Graypaw. She was very brave in the end. Brackenpaw's going to be devastated."

"Yeah," meowed Graypaw, his expression falling.

Dawnlight slowly began to appear on the horizon, turning the sky purple then blue. They quickly passed through the few foxlengths of ShadowClan territory and approached the camp. Brackenpaw's mew greeted them as they approached.

"There they are!" he meowed, looking relieved, but Firepaw saw his face fell when he noticed Whitestorm's limp form. He suddenly became fearful. "What happened? Where's Foxface?"

Firepaw glanced at Graypaw, but the gray apprentice wasn't looking at anyone, and Firepaw realized he'd have to break the news to Brackenpaw himself. "She wanted me to tell you," he meowed, suddenly feeling very silly, "that she expects to see you on the dawn patrol, and that you should practice hearing and smelling, and that she wants you to be climbing trees before the next Gathering."

Brackenpaw looked at him in confusion. "She's coming back soon?"

Firepaw winced. "It was the last thing she said to me," he meowed. "She's gone, Brackenpaw."

"I don't understand," Brackenpaw meowed in disbelief, his expression confused and hurt. "She's coming back, right?"

The young red tom shifted on his paws. "Brackenpaw, she's dead."

The pale brown tabby's eyes widened in understanding and horror. "What?" he said, in disbelief.

"Foxface is dead!?" yowled Tigerclaw, a different kind of horrified in his mew. "What do you mean she's dead?"

"She's dead, Tiigerclaw," meowed Runningwind, carefully lying Whitestorm's body down in the clearing. "She's joined StarClan."

Tigerclaw's expression turned into a sneer, but his eyes flickered with fear. "She _can't_ die!"

Firepaw started in surprise at the way he said that, remembering what Foxface had said. His thoughts went back to his dream and he wondered if they knew something about her he didn't know. _Is_... _StarClan trying to tell me something_? he wondered. He glanced up at the sky, unsure if the Clan's warrior ancestors _could_ speak to him. The dream had mentioned Bluestar's prophecy, sure, but he'd never had dreams like that before. Could they have been telling him that Foxface would live?

"Foxface is dead?" meowed Bluestar from where she stood up on the highrock.

Everyone turned to look at ThunderClan's leader. Runningwind bowed his head. "Firepaw and I were with her during her last moments. She didn't want us to carry her body back. She said it would burden us too much and the next rogue patrol would kill us. I was only honoring her request."

Bluestar blinked. "Did she say anything else?"

"Only that Firepaw and Graypaw is ready to be a warrior, and that it was Graypaw who avenged Whitestorm."

"I see," Bluestar meowed. "I thought..." Her voice trailed off and she seemed to stare at her paws for a long moment. Finally, she lifted her head skyward and meowed. "Rouse the rest of the Clan. I have an announcement to make."

She leaped off the highrock and padded over to Whitestorm, settling down beside him with Runningwind and Graypaw. Runningwind sat down beside her and began telling her everything. Tigerclaw hesitated before he padded into the warrior's den. Brackenpaw murmured something that sounded like an apology and padded away to the nursery. The Clan was about to have a rude awakening.

Firepaw felt numb as he padded up to Whitestorm and pressed his nose into the white tom's fur. He closed his eyes, smelling the familiar scent for the last time.

" _He wasn't supposed to die!"_ _Foxface yowled.  
_

A piercing yowl made him look up and he watched, feeling numb, as Willowpelt padded out of the nursery.

"Whitestorm!" she wailed. "Not you, too!"

Firepaw flinched at the heartbroken tone and stepped back as Willowpelt forced her way to Whitestorm's side and flopped down beside him, stricken with grief for her dead mate. Firepaw watched and glanced around, wishing Foxface's body was here as well so the Clan could grieve for her, too. He felt bad that she'd been robbed of a proper send off and burial.

 _She chose this_ , he reminded himself.

A dusky, dark brown tabby tom burst out of the warrior's den. "Where's Foxface?" Dustpelt demanded.

Runningwind surged to his paws, looking guilty. "Dustpelt," he meowed, voice choked. "Foxface is dead."

Dustpelt reeled and began glancing around. "Where's her body?" he demanded.

"She told us to leave her behind."

" _What?_ " mewed Dustpelt, shocked. "We have to go back for her! She could be alive!"

"She's dead, Dustpelt," meowed Firepaw as the dark brown tom whirled on him. "I saw her take her last breathe. She's with StarClan now."

Dustpelt stared at him and bristled, his face pinching in grief. "You don't know that for sure! We should go back to her! Who knows what the rogues are doing to her?" He gazed around the camp, looking for support.

"I agree," meowed Tigerclaw, his tail twitching in anxiety. "We have to bring her back here."

Runningwind flattened himself to the ground and looked at his paws.

Firepaw rose to his paws. "I'd like to go, too," he meowed, earning a sharp look from Dustpelt. "She deserves to be buried on Clan territory."

"No one is going back there," meowed Bluestar, rising from beside Whitestorm and giving his cold body a last glance. "I'm not losing anymore warriors to those rogues."

Firepaw flinched, remembering everyone else they had lost to ShadowClan's rogues.

"What about the dawn patrol?" meowed Tigerclaw, glancing up at the skies. He looked like a cat with ants in his fur but he remained seated near the entrance.

"It can wait," meowed Bluestar. "I have an announcement I want to make first."

"But Foxface wanted me on the dawn patrol," meowed Brackenpaw, glancing at Firepaw.

Bluestar looked at Brackenpaw and bowed her head. "And you will be," she promised. "But not until after the ceremonies."

Bluestar climbed back up onto the Highrock and looked out over the grieving Clan. "Cats of ThunderClan. What happened to do is a tragedy. It proves that there are some apprentices in the Clan who still have much to learn before they can become warriors." Firepaw glanced at Swiftpaw and saw him duck his head. Graypaw was doing the same. "However, some of our apprentices are ready to become a warrior. When Foxface died, she had told Runningwind that Graypaw had avenged Whitestorm's death and that he had acted like a warrior. I believe it was her intent to have Graypaw made a warrior and I intend to do exactly that."

Graypaw looked like someone had clawed him in the face. He padded forward slowly and guiltily, gazing up at Bluestar with pleading eyes. Firepaw realized that he didn't want to be made a warrior, at least not like this.

"Graypaw, do you promise to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Graypaw looked miserable. "I do," he meowed.

"Then, from this moment onwards you will be known as Graystripe," meowed Bluestar. "StarClan honors your strength and bravery and we welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan."

Graypaw bowed his head. A low murmur filled the Clan, but Bluestar silenced them with a lash of her tail.

"Foxface also mentioned that Firepaw was more than ready to be a warrior and that his ceremony has been delayed long enough."

Firepaw flinched bodily and padded up to stand beside Graystripe. Graystripe gave him a miserable look.

"Firepaw, do you promise to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," meowed the red tom. _For Foxface._

"Then, from this moment onwards you will be known as Fireheart," meowed Bluestar. "StarClan honors your loyalty and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Bluestar descended the highrock and padded over to them. Graystripe stepped forward to lick her shoulder and Fireheart did the same to her other shoulder. When they sat back down, the Clan murmured their names solemnly.

"There is one last ceremony to perform," meowed Bluestar, padding back up onto the highrock for the third time and wrapping her tail around her paws. "Unfortunately, Foxface's body could not be here for it, but I will perform it to the best of my knowledge."

She gazed skyward one more time and yowled across the clearing. "Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the she-cat who has died for you this day, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on she will be known as Foxshadow, for the rogues she fought against during her last breath."

The Clan chanted the new name together, growing progressively louder. Fireheart and Graystripe bowed their heads, in remembrance of the she-cat.

* * *

 **A/N: Is she dead or alive? Everyone will find out in the next chapter!  
**

 **Okay, so you guys might be wondering why Willowpelt's kit, Graypaw, was being mentored by her mate, Whitestorm. This is because Graypaw's father is not Whitestorm. Graypaw's father is Thrushpelt. :)**


	20. Fire and Ice pt 8

**A/N: I made this chapter short because I need a bit of a break from writing. To take a breather, if you know what I mean. XD On WillowpeltXPatchpelt... I never liked the incest bit, especially since they guys are supposed to have a little more self-control than normal cats and don't suffer from out of control mating seasons or from a lack of knowledge about their heritage. I think their mom and dad would be like, "Wait a minute..."  
**

 **AnonChan1: Aw, thank you! That is like a compliment to me because it's one of my greatest flaws with writing tbh. Trying to give my OCs flaws and keep them stuck. (A) Yes you have! I'm so glad! I've always thought of him as a bit of a pacifist (part of the reason Clanners don't like him, yeah?) He might have been a great medicine cat, too. Foxstar and Fireheart, Leader and medicine cat... that's a great AU. I might write that one day. Also, LOL. (B) I'm glad I could remind you of him even if by accident. Fire and Ice has him as the main enemy, after all. I don't think I'm writing him into the story well enough. (C) I'm so glad I can put so much tension in those fight scenes. It's good to know I'm good at that. :3 (D) I didn't even think about badgers... I need to write them down somewhere. "Don't forget to add badgers." xD (E) DARKCLAN, the official fan Clan of this story arc. Will they survive to the next story or will they be disbanded? Also, Iceclaw was like... the one cat I wanted in there because Fire and Ice is the name of this story. (F) Hmmm... not my plan for her.**

 **S1L3NT: More than likely it was an unintended consequence of trying to stop her throat from bleeding out. It's explained a bit in the very fist paragraph. Oh, and speaking of Tigerclaw's reaction, that gets explained as well, so that's two things to look forward to. :) (Ffnet needs to stop doing that. It messes me up when I'm writing sometimes because I'm writing straight into the documents and not uploading like a smart person would do. XD)**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: It was meant to be more of a combination of him acknowledging her prowess but "putting her in her place" by insinuating that she could only make it to being his mate and not his equal. It isn't easy to insinuate because I haven't actually gone over BloodClan's culture.**

 **lemon: I feel so proud of my work if it's affecting you. Gosh, I don't really think the story is that great. / I go by they/them pronouns.**

* * *

It was hard to see or smell anything the moor as dawn broke out and the sun warmed the dew on the grass. Foxface kept her forelegs pressed into her throat while holding her breath, hoping that keeping the wound as still as possible would help heal her wound faster. She occasionally was forced to take short, panting breathes to avoid passing out and she tried her hardest not to swallow as a trickle of blood tried to bubble up out of her mouth. The familiar smell of the marsh briefly passed over nose and she realized that Firepaw had left. She blinked her eyes open and looked around, noticing the big, dark brown and ragged tabby tom seated beside her.

"Raggedstar?" she mewed softly.

She felt her head fur stir as Raggedstar touched her forehead. His breath was warm like the rays of the sun. " _You can't avoid death forever, Foxshadow._ "

"Foxshadow?" she mewed, confused. "Is that what StarClan is calling me?"

" _Bluestar gave you your renaming ceremony a few moments ago,_ " Raggedstar meowed. " _StarClan has heard it. Your new name is Foxshadow_."

Foxshadow shifted slightly but stopped when she felt pain in her throat. She lashed her tail in annoyance. "I can't die yet. I have to become the deputy. With Whitestorm dead, they'll need more candidates now more than ever."

 _"There is no guarantee you'll be made deputy_ ," Raggedstar meowed.

"I will if Tigerclaw approves of me as an option," Foxshadow pointed out.

" _Is that why you have made an alliance with him_?"

Foxshadow winced. "I haven't made an alliance with him officially yet..."

" _But you've been thinking about it,_ " Raggedstar pointed out. " _Did you think no one would notice?_ "

"It could be important. It could help me become deputy. I can't say no if he gives me the opportunity..."

" _Foxshadow, you are walking a dangerous path._ "

Foxshadow couldn't help but crack a smile. "You have no idea how ironic that is."

 _"This is serious."_

"I can handle myself.'

" _That isn't the point."_ Raggedstar wrapped his tail around his paws and glanced skyward. The fog and mist obscured the sun, but the sunlight still kept the moor well lit. " _You've read our stories, you've seen our mistakes. I had hoped that this would help prevent you from making our mistakes, but I suppose not all of them are written down._ "

Foxshadow furrowed her brows. "I don't follow."

Raggedstar sighed. " _I thought that my son could change, that what I saw was merely something that would eventually go away. So I ignored it. His apprentice respected him. The Clan liked him. He was charismatic, and I thought he was the best for the position of deputy. I was blinded, Foxshadow, and it cost my Clan a whole generation of potential warriors. Don't let Tigerclaw blind you like he has already blinded the rest of ThunderClan. You of all cats should know he will not change._ "

"Brokenstar was different," she meowed. "He killed kits."

" _Tigerclaw killed Redtail and he was going to kill Ravenfeather. You know this, Foxshadow._ "

"Ravenfeather isn't dead," Foxshadow pointed out, bristling. "I can protect him. Besides... maybe Tigerclaw doesn't know that Ravenfeather knows about what he did to Redtail."

" _You don't really believe that,_ " asked Raggedstar in disbelief.

"Look, you're asking me to go against someone who used to be a really sweet kit and who spent most of his warrior ship _believing his current leader murdered her own kits_ ," meowed Foxshadow firmly. "And, in my opinion, she did kill at least one of them. Mosskit would never have frozen to death if she hadn't given them up to become deputy."

" _She did it to prevent Thistleclaw from becoming deputy_ ," meowed Raggedstar.

"Can you really say that Sunstar was going to pick Thistleclaw for deputyship? When Sunstar made Bluestar his deputy, do you know what he told her? He said that she was ambitious for the sake of her Clan and that is why Sunstar wanted her instead of Thistleclaw. Sunstar was aware of Thistleclaw's bloodthirsty ambition. Do you really think Thistleclaw and Bluestar were the only possible choices he could have made? Bluestar did and that is her folly. She couldn't see passed her chosen enemy to Thrushpelt, a tom who was only three season older than her and had much more experience."

Raggedstar fell silent, staring at Foxshadow with wide eyes.

"That is Bluestar's fatal flaw," meowed Foxshadow. "That is why I believe she murdered her own kit... a kit that should never have been born in the first place, I might add." She lifted her head fractionally at him. "You know there is a huge problem in the Clans right now. There are cats who are never given apprentices, never given opportunities to prove that they have the potential to be deputy. Bluestar and Thistleclaw were only one example of this happening."

" _You want to become leader so you can change this_ ," Raggedstar meowed.

"A new precedent needs to be set. A new tradition that could make our Clan strong again."

"' _Our'?"_

Foxshadow blinked at him and looked at her paws. " _My_ Clan," she corrected.

" _Your dream is admirable, but your resolve is lacking._ "

Foxshadow bristled. "How so?"

" _If you really wanted to be the deputy, you wouldn't need Tigerclaw to make you one. You'd prove to Bluestar over and over again that you are worthy of it._ "

"Bluestar doesn't trust me. She named me _Foxface_ , remember?" Then, Foxshadow sneered. "And why would I want the approval of a kit killer?"

Raggedstar seemed to freeze. Then he bowed his head. " _I cannot dissuade you, Foxshadow, but there is one thing you need to remember._ "

"What?" meowed Foxshadow.

Raggedstar had already begun to fade. " _Redtail was someone's kit, too."_

Foxshadow flinched, but shook herself. _It's different_ , she reasoned. _Redtail was an adult and deputy of the Clan when he died. Mosskit was just as kit._

 _But is he right about my resolve?_

Foxshadow closed her eyes and scratched her brain for an answer. Raggedstar wouldn't have visited her if she wasn't already close to death, but he also said a long time ago that she couldn't die unless she chose, but the choice was obvious for her. She couldn't die until she was sure that Fireheart was made deputy of ThunderClan or she herself had the position so she could step down when Fireheart was ready.

 _If I could only prove that I was a better choice for deputy than anyone else_ , she thought. _I already have the apprentice that I need. All I need now is Bluestar's respect, but what is going to get her to respect me?_

She decided that she had waited long enough for the bleeding to stop. She rose to her paws and wrapped her tail around her paws, wincing when the sticky blood pull out some of the fur in her forelegs. Foxshadow groomed her self, cleaning her chest and forelegs of the blood.

Whatever she might have said to Firepaw about there being a patrol coming, Foxshadow doubted that one would return to this spot. They didn't bother to actually monitor their borders and that meant that they actually didn't care who was on their territory. It could mean that they were only interested in the prey, but Foxshadow wouldn't bet on that. She'd guess that Brokenstar's underlings were less inclined to listen to him for one reason or another. But sneaking into the DarkClan camp would be impossible - the ex-WindClan camp was perched at the top of a large hill and could see for miles around.

 _It would be easier if I could just turn into a spirit and walk up there undisturbed,_ she thought.

Then she remembered what Raggedstar had told her when she had gone to the mothermouth - that all her dreams can become a reality. Perhaps now was the best time to figure that out, without anyone expecting her to go on patrols. But how does one imagine themselves to become something else and yet still be able to return to their old body without actually dying?

* * *

 **A/N: There are very few opportunities in writing to fake someone's death. I believe one should take all the opportunities.  
**

 **Speaking of opportunities, I might not be able to post anything Monday on account of school starting. The updating schedule is going to be changed, but I'm not entirely sure what it's going to look like.**


	21. Fire and Ice pt 9

**A/N: I forgot to mention last chapter that S1L3NT made another fanart for me on deviantart! (/art/Realistic-Foxshadow-699015511)! Thank you so much, S1l3NT! If you need me to send you a PM with the link, let me know! I still am not trusting my profile to keep the link. :/  
**

 **AnonChan1: Yeah, and then there's always that concern that I could forget a character interpretation and interpret him completely different when I try to bring him back. I'd write it down, but I have problems with writing personality summaries. They tend to be either too short, too confusing or too long. XD (A) THAT is true. He'd make a better medicine cat than Leafpool, imo. Leafpool should have been a warrior. That twin link was useless. (D) Midnight was always... that Big Lipped Alligator moment for me. I honestly think that she and Sol and should have been combined into one character, with Sol actually having all of Midnight's powers instead of... I guess he learned them from her? I don't know. (E) Trust me. Iceclaw is going to be. (F) And yeah, ghosts are awesome. (1) Yup! Raggedstar has been making unnamed appearances since she planned the attack on ShadowClan, including visiting her at the Mothermouth on her trip to the Moonstone as an apprentice. (2) That is true. It's one of the things I'm surprised that doesn't happen that often in these kinds of stories. If a person from our world has prior opinions of characters, it's going to transfer over to that world if there are no obvious differences between those opinions/interpretations in the universe she ends up stuck in. This is going to affect her behavior and I've tried my best here to make it affect hers. I'm glad you are noticing that there are going to be issues. (3) Raggedstar is a lot wiser in this story than he is in canon, or at least I hope he is. He's been trying to fix his mistake since he died. I should have had him explain a bit more, but I guess that's going to have to be left up to his next appearance. (4) Don't worry! No attempts of suicide are going to happen. Unless you think dying for the Clan is suicidal. In which case... uhhhhhh.**

 **Fakira: Short reviews are fine! Better than no reviews, tbh. XD  
**

 **Vinejaw - Vinewings of Airclan: Yep, this is that story, but hallucinations, especially when she's near death, aren't actually dreams. She'd have to be asleep for one of those and StarClan has been preventing her from having those kinds of dreams. It will make trying to get nine lives a pain though or being a medicine cat impossible, unless she pulled a Mothwing. But she's not able to breath in a medicine cat den so...  
**

 **sierra_stanley_52: Wow, you're very demanding... and thank you so much for the encouragement. :) Yeah... unfortunately dark themes crop in my writing a lot. Whoops. Need to be more careful of that in the future, hm. Also, I did check out your stories a while ago. Neat! Been a bit distracted with other things so sorry I haven't gotten to a review! :)  
**

* * *

Fireheart was hating his warrior vigil.

After the whole Clan had all served vigil for Whitestorm and Foxshadow, Fireheart had wanted nothing more than to leave and fetch her body so she could have a proper burial. But Bluestar refused to risk anymore of her warriors for their sake, which only served to remind Fireheart about everything Bluestar had said about Foxshadow. Bluestar's thoughts might have been in the right place but Fireheart was starting to doubt that her heart was. The whole Clan knew that Bluestar had no great love of Foxshadow and vice-versa, and no one was happy with the decision.

Fireheart glanced over his shoulder towards the cats who were still holding their vigil for the dead. Bluestar, Willowpelt, Sandstorm, Longtail, and a few others had gathered around Whitestorm's body. A tiny pile of cats had gathered around Dustpelt on the opposite side of the camp from that vigil to hold vigil for Foxshadow, and Fireheart recognized Tigerclaw, Goldenflower and Brackenpaw among them. Fireheart had never seen a cat look as heartbroken as Dustpelt did and he couldn't help but feel sorry for Dustpelt.

 _A warrior would never have left Foxshadow's body behind_ , he thought to himself, frowning.

The sun had started to rise and it's warmth had caused the dew to turn into a light mist which covered the forest. The dawn patrol should have been sent out before the sun was even up, but the Clan had barely stirred after the vigil was complete. Fireheart padded away from his spot at the edge of camp, itching to be moving. He hadn't slept for a full day, but couldn't bring himself to sleep just yet. He padded cautiously away from his post and prodded Bluestar in her side. The blue-gray queen looked up at him, blinking at the sunlight.

"Fireheart?" she meowed, glancing around. "You're vigil's over." She said this as if commenting on the weather.

"I want to be on the dawn patrol."

It took Bluestar a few heartbeats to realize that no cat had been sent on the dawn patrol yet and she glanced around for her deputy only to spot him curled up in a ball and pressed into Dustpelt's side. She nodded to herself. "Take whoever you want with you," she meowed.

Fireheart paused at this new responsibility but, after a quick glance towards Dustpelt's small group, realized he'd only pick a few cats for this mission. He dipped his head to Bluestar and padded over to Dustpelt and prodded the tom's side. He did the same to Brackenpaw, rousing the young apprentice.

"We're going on the dawn patrol," he told them. "We have to tell RiverClan and ShadowClan about what happened."

"What about Foxshadow?" asked Brackenpaw, glancing at Dustpelt.

Fireheart also glanced at Dustpelt and studied the tom's drooping whiskers thoughtfully. "I'll explain on the way."

"You aren't going anywhere without me," meowed Tigerclaw suddenly, lifting his head and staring at Fireheart.

Fireheart frowned at him, suddenly nervous and uncertain that he would be able to pull through with his plan. "Okay, Tigerclaw," he said, mostly because it was the only thing he could say to the deputy given the circumstances. He glanced at Dustpelt, itching to tell the tom his plan but turned away.

The fiery red tom wasn't all that surprised when Tigerclaw took the lead, practically rushing them through the patrol and only stopping for each cat to mark a tree. Fireheart was surprised at the deputy's speed and realized that Tigerclaw might have an ulterior motive for joining them, one which had nothing to do with making sure Fireheart stayed out of trouble.

"We will head straight to the ShadowClan border," meowed Tigerclaw after they reached the river.

Fireheart hesitated, remembering his excuse. "We have to tell RiverClan about DarkClan."

Tigerclaw tensed, glancing at the kittypet. "DarkClan?" he said, in a strange tight voice.

"Yes," meowed Fireheart. "The rogues who attacked called themselves DarkClan. Some of them had collars with dogteeth in them."

Tigerclaw stared at Fireheart for a long moment and then looked away. "Very well, we will wait only to tell them of DarkClan. Tell me everything you know, Fireheart."

Dustpelt bristled at being delayed and perched down on a rock, looking towards Fourtrees and WindClan territory. Brackenpaw, much to Fireheart's confusion, sat down in the mud right next to the bank, ignoring the mud despite it making him obviously uncomfortable. While telling Tigerclaw about what had happened and everything he knew about Foxshadow's supposed murderer, the pink-eyed white tom named Iceclaw with his black dogtooth-studded collar, Fireheart kept glancing towards the RiverClan border, searching for any familiar RiverClan pelts and wondering if he'd see Silverpaw on the patrol.

The wind stirred the tree branches overhead and a squirrel scurried across the length of a branch, perching boldly upon it as if daring the warrior who could leap from tree branch to tree branch to appear and catch. Fireheart shifted on his paws, wondering if RiverClan was always this late with their patrol. The few times he had been on the dawn patrol had resulted in a long wait and Fireheart was uncomfortably reminded that they were near the spot that Foxshadow would usually choose to meet them. It was just a few tail lengths closer to the river, where Brackenpaw was seated actually.

The young apprentice let out a yowl, causing Fireheart to jump and Tigerclaw to whip around, bristling. Dustpelt reacted more slowly, as if being physically dragged from his thoughts and he stared out across the water towards three silhouettes coming towards them. Two smokey black cats and a blue-gray tabby tom surged out of the waters like otters and padded up onto the muddy banks without caring about the mud squishing between their webbed toes.

"Morning," meowed Stonefur, dipping his head respectfully to Tigerclaw.

Fireheart recognized the senior most wawrrior in RiverClan, Blackclaw, along with a young warrior that could have been his daughter or genderbent double and that Fireheart couldn't recognize. The young smokey black she-cat padded over to Dustpelt, meowing a greeting, and Fireheart heard her say something along the lines of "Where's Foxshadow?" and a look of sadness crossed her face when Dustpelt simply shook his head.

The blue-gray tabby continued. "Any news?"

Tigerclaw meowed evenly. "We ran into one of their patrols the other day. We were able to identify two of the cats as Russetfur and Boulder, but Boulder died during the skirmish. There were two rogues with them, one was a giant white tom with a black collar studded with dogteeth and the other was a brown tom. We can only assume that they have started to use Clan names, since the white one was called Iceclaw."

Stonefur seemed to have grown more and more unnerved the more Tigerclaw spoke. "I will inform Crookedstar of this," he meowed.

"Don't you mean Leopardfur?" meowed Tigerclaw.

Stonefur narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you suggesting how RiverClan should run itself, Tigerclaw?"

Tigerclaw bristled but quickly flattened his fur. "Of course not, Stonefur," he meowed.

Stonefur nodded. "We will see you tomorrow then," he meowed, gesturing towards the other two cats. "Blackclaw, Shadepelt, with me."

The three warriors turned and disappeared quickly back into the river. Fireheart glanced at Dustpelt and noted that his gaze had wandered back to Fourtrees.

"Can we go look for Foxshadow now?" asked Brackenpaw anxiously, the pale brown tom looking at Tigerclaw. "We can pass through Fourtrees to avoid ShadowClan."

Tigerclaw blinked at the small brown tom and Fireheart really expected him to say no. "We will move quickly if we are to catch the ShadowClan patrol on our way back." He looked at Fireheart. "Unless that is a problem?"

Startled, Fireheart shook his head. "I want to bring Foxshadow's body back for her burial. She deserves to be buried on ThunderClan territory."

Tigerclaw half-nodded at this response, his gaze sliding towards Dustpelt for a second before he looked away. "Very well. ThunderClan, follow me."

The patrol practically rushed towards Fourtrees. The massive four oak trees, each tree in a corner of the massive bowl which served as all the Clan's gathering place, towering over them like massive twoleg nests. Fireheart felt like he was padding across alien ground as they quickly descended the slopes leading out of ThunderClan territory and up the slope which lead into the WindClan moor. Fireheart found himself taking the lead, gathering himself on his haunches to peer over the tall grasses and remember the general direction of where the battle had taken place. After a moment, he bounded through the grasses, ignoring the feel of his back feet catching on straws and the noise of grasses rustling. How WindClan managed to stay stealthy and silent on the moor was beyond him.

They emerged into a clearing and Fireheart immediately spotted the gray tom's dead body. He gestured with his tail for them to follow and padded around until he could find Foxshadow's resting spot. Except Foxshadow wasn't there. Fireheart started and sniffed around, detecting her scent and a puddle of dried blood in the dirt but there was nothing else there.

"Where is she?" demanded Dustpelt, looking around.

"She was right here," meowed Fireheart. "This is her blood. This is her scent."

Dustpelt sniffed the ground and then sniffed around where Foxshadow had been. "She wasn't dragged off," he meowed finally. "She must have walked off." He turned his dark amber gaze towards Fireheart and glared daggers into his pelt.

Fireheart bristled and meowed defensively, "It's not my fault. When I was here, she had stopped breathing."

"She couldn't have gone far," asked Brackenpaw, looking dejectedly at the puddle of blood before looking around. "Where did she go?"

Tigerclaw shoved passed them both and sniffed the ground, grunting to himself. "I am not surprised." He seemed to have relaxed, finally and he was looking around them as if they had just discovered a new abandoned badger's den on ThunderClan territory.

"What do you mean?" asked Fireheart and Dustpelt at the same time, causing them to glance at each other.

Tigerclaw grunted. "We cannot stay in WindClan territory. Wherever she has gone, she is most likely safe." He almost seem disdainful of her now, as if unimpressed.

"What if she's delirious?" Dustpelt meowed worriedly. "What if she has lost too much blood?"

Brackenpaw sniffed around cautious. "If she was bleeding out, wouldn't there be a blood trail?" he asked curiously, looking expectantly at Fireheart.

Fireheart looked around and realized that he couldn't see any signs of Foxshadow's wound bleeding. He padded around and pawed at the grasses, growing increasingly unnerved and thoughtful. "It almost looks as if she has fallen off the face of the earth," he meowed at last, looking at the other two warriors. "I can't find her scent anywhere."

Tigerclaw and Dustpelt circled around the dried puddle of blood and pushed through the grasses, looking for Foxshadow's scent anywhere. Beyond the area where she had battled the rogue, Iceclaw, there was no scent of her anywhere. Fireheart became more and more unnerved when neither tom returned.

"Maybe StarClan came and collected her?" asked Brackenpaw, sounding both awed and saddened at the thought. "I've never heard of them taking their bodies, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Foxshadow really was special."

Tigerclaw returned first, frowning as he settled down near the spot where Foxshadow had disappeared. "We will have to tell Bluestar about this," he meowed, his tone having gone neutral. Fireheart guessed he hadn't found anything.

Dustpelt returned a few moments later, his fur ruffled and eyes wide in panic. "She couldn't have just disappeared!" he yowled, distraught. He threw himself onto the ground where Foxshadow had been and curled up, pushing his nose into the dirt as if savoring her scent before it could disappear entirely. His shoulder shook and his tail tip seemed to spasm. Fireheart felt sorry for the tom.

Tigerclaw rose to his paws. "We have to go," he meowed firmly, shoving Dustpelt's shoulder forcefully. The dusky dark brown tabby tom blinked up at Tigerclaw, looking like he was lost in his own thoughts and sorrow. "Get up, Dustpelt. We are needed back in camp."

"We should tell ShadowClan what we told RiverClan," meowed Fireheart.

Tigerclaw gave him a look. "We will leave that to the dusk patrol," he meowed, a note of finality in his voice. "Come."

Fireheart hesitated to follow, watching Dustpelt rise shakily to his paws and pad after Tigerclaw, lost in thought. Brackenpaw looked at Fireheart, as if hoping the tom would have an explanation for everything that was happening.

 _If she's gone_ , Fireheart thought, glancing around one last time. _I thought she was gone last time, too._

Fireheart remembered Foxshadow's words and nodded to himself.

"She'll be back," he meowed aloud. "I don't know how, but I know this isn't the last we've seen of her."

Brackenpaw nodded, looking cheered. "I knew I couldn't be wrong," he meowed, then the pale tom shot off, his tail held high behind him and an almost cheerful bounce to his step.

Fireheart wondered, for a brief moment, who would become the pale brown tom's mentor if Foxshadow never returned, before he shook himself and mentally threw the thought aside. Foxshadow was coming back. She promised she would, after all.

They padded back to camp, bounding over the shallow stream which cut a path through ThunderClan territory on its way to the RiverClan river. When they reached the top of the ravine, Fireheart saw right away that the camp was bustling with activity. He recognized a black pelt among them and his stomach twisted. They descended the ravine quickly and emerged from the camp entrance a heartbeat later to the sight Fireheart hoped not to see on this day.

"Hey, Firepaw! Or is it Fireheart now?"

Ravenfeather greeted him with a warm mew and a smile, causing the red warrior's heart to fall into his paws.

* * *

 **A/N: I know some people are going to be asking themselves "Wouldn't Runningwind have told Tigerclaw everything, especially since there was enough time (and reason) for him to do so?" My response is this; there is always another motive behind what Tigerclaw does, even if it's not very obvious. Tigerclaw is asking Fireheart about DarkClan because he wants to know what Fireheart knows and how he knows what he knows, not because he doesn't already know about Iceclaw and DarkClan. Hope that clears some things up. :)  
**

 **Also, here we get the two names that Runningwind told Tigerclaw about. Russetfur (the dark red she-cat who yelled at Icelcaw and told him they needed to retreat) and the dead gray tom who was actually Boulder (Fireheart keeps calling all the silvered toms "gray toms"). Iceclaw gets an honorable mention, as well as the brown tom who fought Fireheart, though his name is still unknown.**

 **I keep forgetting to mention that Mistyfoot and Stonefur are both blue-gray tabbies in this continuity. They both have their mother's coat, but their father's stripe pattern. If any of you are wondering how this can be when Oakheart is described as a "dark brown" tabby, then my response is this; black tabbies (which is what Bluestar is a dilute of and what Oakheart and Darkstripe are) can have base coats that are either gray or brown. I don't know why, but that's how things are. :/ You can tell them apart from the chocolate tabby by their black stripes, hence "black tabby". I don't know enough about genetics to say this for certain, but I have a sneaking suspicion that black tabbys with brown base coats are either the non-dilute chocolate tabbies or they carry one recessive chocolate color gene. Any experts out there that could clarify this for me?  
**

 **Tigerclaw's a lot less emotionless in this story than he really should be, isn't he? Sorry about that! I do have an explanation for it that goes back to my earliest interpretation of him and the simple fact that he never, ever seemed emotionless in the books to me. He always seemed to be saying something snarkily or snidely or evilishly, which always made me roll my eyes at him. Imo, he should be emoting something, even if he's very good at hiding his true emotion.**

 **The schedule is still up in the air right now. I'm going to try and post every Saturday. I'll probably end up posting the second chapter on Sunday if I ever have two of them ready by the end of the week. College is hectic, so who knows?**

 **Hope you enjoy this update and don't forget to leave a review!**


	22. Fire and Ice pt 10

**A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter! Two updates in two days! Hope you guys haven't missed last chapter because here we go!  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I have a snall list of canon names you should probably check out, namely Ambermoon, Scorchwind and Windflight. My understanding is that Wind, Shadow, Thunder, River and Sky can be used as prefixes or suffixes just fine, but only outside of that particular Clan - hence why Scorchwind is ShadowClan and Runningwind and Windflight is ThunderClan. You won't find a WindClan cat with the prefix Wind or a ThunderClan cat with the prefix Thunder. On the suffix and prefix of moon... Ambermoon was confirmed to be the name of Amberpaw from Bramblestar's Storm (just look at the allegiances of Vision of Shadows), so they obviously don't really think that's too sacred to be used as a suffix. However, I do remember that the Erins did confirm that Moonflower was a mistake because the Erins wanted the prefix Moon to be limited to places where cats could communicate with StarClan, such as the Moonpool and Moonstone. After all, Leafpool and Strikestone are canon cat names and if they had been given the prefix Moon... I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. Fortunately for everyone, -clan is not a suffix for warrior names, lol. Thunderclan the deputy of ThunderClan, descendant of Windcat the WindClan tom and Kitty the Kittypet... reading that sentence is just too weird. lol. Also, the reason why I editted Runningwind, Runningnose and Loudbelly's names was because... who would name their kit Runningkit or Loudkit? I hate the verb used as name trick and Loudkit would be just mean. At least with Swiftpaw, swift is a kind of bird.  
**

 **AnonChan1: I'm not actually all that surprised that badger's can speak cat. Some kittypets and cats in real life can understand some human words, such as sit or stay, though dogs have an easier time of it. The idea that badgers might be able to speak fox or cat isn't that far fetched, but since badgers have been portrayed as savage or brutal towards other animals, I just don't see one of them spending time doing it. Midnight is just a very weird concept that doesn't fit in the universe, imo. I'm glad this isn't coming off as a fix-it fic, because I never intended it to be one. Sure, the original series had a lot of mistakes, but I'm here to write a fun story about my character messing stuff up and not about Foxy trying to correct those mistakes. (i) I think Fireheart is being a bit more emotional about the situation than Bluestar is in this instance, as he tends to do in canon. (ii) Fireheart is adjusting to Clan life very slowly. He hasn't had that moment where he's just like "I _get_ this. This makes _sense_ to me" that Foxshadow had when she was an apprentice. He's having to question his perception of cats and focus a bit more on what it really means to be a Clan cat. (iii) Tigerclaw should be making you nervous. He knows something he shouldn't know. How does he know that Foxshadow won't die? How? HOW!? xD (iv) Brackenpaw might not understand biology but he's smart enough to know that open wounds = blood trail.  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Lol, I keep the updating schedule so I feel more motivated to return to a story or I might end up abandoning it. Helps it feel more like an accomplishment when I post that latest update on time. *victory fist pump* Don't worry about DustpeltXFoxshadow, that whole scene last chapter was to help set up for their future romance plot in Forest of Secrets. Trust me, it's coming. XD You mean besides the obvious reasons? I based her off a cat I once took under my care and whose name was Oaky. She was as big as a Maine Coon tom, I swear, and looked like an American Shorthair. She was the sweetest thing, too, so naturally I modeled Foxy after her. I chose the prefix Fox because I wanted there to be a reason behind her name that wasn't "Only Fire Can Save The Clan" kinds of cliche. So, I decided she'd meet the cats by scaring off foxes and the name Fox just stuck. It was really impromptu. XD**

 **S1L3NT: *evil laughter* He's going to be explained more in Forest of Secrets. :)**

* * *

The WindClan moor was as patchy as ShadowClan coats, with long wild grass that grew high over the heads of cats passed the knees and sometimes hips of twoleg adults but also with large flat, round areas where the grass refused to grow. Foxshadow, with her broad chest and long fur, found that traveling through their territory was exhausting, especially when she was already weak from blood loss.

Tracking anything on the WindClan moor was nearly impossible. Though she knew the general direction that the DarkClan cats had gone, the smell of the heather on her and around her had completely drowned out their scent, though she honestly couldn't smell anything beyond the stench of the plants she had rolled in the hopes of disguising her scent. Her eyes watered from the scent of plants everywhere. She was forced to rely entirely on sight, pawing carefully through the grass to prevent her wounds from reopening and grateful that she had that extra toe which made her paw prints different from a normal cat's.

She skirted around the hill in the center of the moor and realized quickly that the DarkClan cats had avoided using WindClan's old camp as theirs. The trail led her away from the moorlands and towards the great line of trees that separated WindClan territory from Barley's Barn. She hesitated as she reached the treeline, breathing out loudly through her nose in an attempt to pick up the scent of the rogue Clan and an uneasy feeling filled her when she smelled nothing. She padded forward carefully, looking for more tracks, but it was harder to find than before. They seemed to have broken out into a flat out run once they had passed the tree line and the grass was too short for them to have left a mark. She tried looking for blood spots, but that seemed impossible. The dew of the morning seemed to have washed it away, as well as make the grass smell even stronger.

She crouched under the underbrush, grateful for some cover, and turned her sight towards Barley Barn. It was the only place around for miles that could serve as a shelter for the Clan and it had plenty of prey in it to feed said Clan, at least for a few moons. Logically, that was where DarkClan was hiding.

 _If I was stronger, I'd go out there and spy on them_ , she thought to herself.

But if DarkClan had decided to set up camp in Barley's Barn, why did they patrol WindClan's territory at all?

She frowned thoughtfully and looked back over her shoulder and up to the top of the hill in the moor. The only way she could answer that question safely was if she investigated WindClan's camp herself. She turned back uphill and began the long climb to the top.

When she reached the top she was mildly surprised that it was deserted. She flopped down on the ground and curled up, with her tail wrapping around her. She felt exhausted and tired, wanting nothing more than to sleep. However, when she heard a cat shuffling around in the grass nearby, she forced her eyes open a crack and looked around. A sleek, short-furred Siamese emerged from one of the dens, carrying out a dead rabbit. Her fur was almost milky with brownish tint, but with dark brown tail, socks, muzzle and ears. She had brilliant blue eyes that blinked confusedly when she looked at the massive she-cat.

"Oh, hi!" she meowed through the prey in her mouth, looking both nervous and hopeful. "Did Brokenstar send you?"

Foxshadow wondered how many cats were in DarkClan if this cat didn't recognize she wasn't one of them right away. DarkClan could be overpopulated. She lifted her head and shook her head. "No," she rasped, feeling a stab of pain in her throat. Perhaps she hadn't spoke to Raggedstar after all and just been dreaming she had. She mentally shook the thought away. "You a part of DarkClan?"

"Yes," meowed the she-cat. "My name is Sasha- er, I mean, Sabletail." She looked largely uncomfortable with the name and glanced around, as if remembering she was in enemy territory.

Foxshadow blinked at her. "You're new to this, aren't you?"

Sabletail nodded, flattening her ears and lowering her tail. "Yes," she admitted. "I've never been in a Clan before."

Foxshadow tilted her head. "Then why did you join DarkClan?"

"They promised to keep my kits safe," meowed Sabletail, before adding, "and it's easier to get food there."

"Brokenstar won't protect your kits," rasped Foxshadow. "He has killed kits that he didn't like or were too small or too young to fight. You can ask his former mate, Newtspeck, about that. She's in ShadowClan."

Sabletail flinched at the word 'ShadowClan'. "Are you from ShadowClan?"

Foxshadow shook her head and Sabletail relaxed. Foxshadow debated whether it would be best to tell Sasha - er, Sabletail - that Foxshadow was from ThunderClan.

"I don't know," meowed Sabletail. "Those other Clans are really wild and dangerous. They'd probably kill me if I tried to cross the border and speak with them."

"Not if I'm there," meowed Foxshadow. "Their leader will think twice before trying to kill me. He owes me one."

Sabletail blinked at Foxshadow in surprise. "Really?" She shifted uncomfortably and glanced down the moor towards Barley's Barn. "But they'll expecting me back in DarkClan by now. Blackfoot won't like me being late."

"What if I told you that ShadowClan would protect you from DarkClan and Brokenstar?"

"You think so?" she meowed, hopeful.

Foxshadow nodded. "ShadowClan hates Brokenstar for what he did to their kits and kin. They would be more than happy to protect you from him, especially if you bring them that rabbit and promise to help hunt for their Clan."

Sabletail looked uncertain. "Are you sure?"

Foxshadow nodded. "Of course. Unlike Brokenstar, the Clans will actually keep their word about that kind of thing. They will protect your kits, if you choose to have them." Foxshadow also believed that ShadowClan would be more than willing to bolster their ranks after Brokenstar's elite warriors abandoned the Clan. The kits Sabletail could provide outweighed whatever problems they might have with her kittypet past... if this was the Sasha from the books as Foxshadow believed her to be. And if they didn't think that, then Foxshadow would show them a piece of her mind.

Sabletail contemplated Foxshadow's words thoughtfully before she shook her head. "I don't think I can leave now."

"You can always leave," meowed Foxshadow, surprised at the rejection but realizing she was in no position to fight it especially due to her weakened state. "It's just a quick jog over the border."

Sabletail's tail flickered uncomfortably. "I don't know if I..." She sucked in a breath. "I don't know if I can trust you. You seem like a nice cat but..."

Foxshadow blinked at her in understanding. "Of course, I understand. Can you do me a favor though?"

Sabletail relaxed and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Sure, anything."

"Tell me about DarkClan," said Foxshadow. "Tell me about how it's like to live there."

Sabletail looked confused. "I thought you didn't like Brokenstar?"

Foxshadow smiled in amusement, her eyes lighting up playfully. "But you seem to. Tell me what you think of the ex-leader of ShadowClan."

Sabletail opened her mouth to speak but then stopped in surprise. "He was the leader of ShadowClan?"

"Yes, before they drove him out for killing their kits," meowed Foxshadow.

"But he has nine lives!" A note of terror had filled the she-cat.

"That doesn't mean he can't be killed. No cat is immortal, Sasha," mewed Foxshadow, noting how she seemed to soften when she used her old name. "But we're getting off the subject. Tell me about DarkClan."

Sabletail grew quiet and thoughtful before she padded over and crouched down beside Foxshadow, dragging the rabbit over as well. "There's a lot to talk about," she meowed. "I used be a kittypet and a loner, but I have a mate now. He's big and strong and he's the deputy of DarkClan. His name is Blackfoot."

Foxshadow nodded. "Does he have other mates?"

"Well, I don't know," she meowed. "I live in my own nest with two other queens, and one of them used to be a kittypet like me, but she still has her collar. Her name is Lightpelt but it used to be Smoke. Then there's Whiteflower, who is so nice and gentle. She used be a loner named Lily."

Foxshadow nodded to show she was listening as Sabletail continued.

"Lightpelt gave birth to her kits last moon. She named them Graykit, Blackkit, Whitekit and Darkkit, the same way they told her to. She hadn't wanted to name them those but thought that since Blackfoot and Whiteflower had colors for names that she'd just use that instead of her own names."

"Did she tell you what those names were?" Foxshadow asked.

"Yes, actually. She wanted to name them Henry, Jacob, Jess, and Brody."

Foxshadow nodded. "They sound like nice names..." _For humans_ , she thought to herself. "What does she look like?"

"She's grey with blue eyes and she has a pink collar. She used to be called Smoke but we already have a Smokefur in the Clan so they had her named changed to Lightpelt."

Foxshadow could understand that reasoning and nodded. They talked for a long time after that, with Sabletail going on and on about the cats in the Clan and how much better it was than her former life. She never mentioned Brokenstar and actively avoided talking about her relationship Blackfoot, which Foxshadow saw as a bad sign. Eventually, as sunhigh rolled around, Sabletail rose to her paws and stretched.

"I should be going," Sabletail meowed, rising to her paws and collecting her freshkill. "It was nice talking to you...?"

Foxshadow hesitated before she responded with; "You can call me Bark."

Sabletail dipped her head. "See you around, Bark!"

The brown-ginger-and-white she-cat nodded thoughtfully as she watched Sabletail bound away through the grasses. With a tired sigh, Foxshadow lowered her head and started to think through what Sabletail had told her.

It seemed that DarkClan didn't follow the warrior code as avidly as they should, but Foxshadow had expected as much from someone like Brokenstar. Most of the newcomers had been toms and they fought constantly to keep their training and skills at peak conditioning. The warriors had been divided down the center between fighters and hunters, with only the fighters getting mates and all the hunters being treated as weak or useless due to their often pathetic sizes. The newcomers who were queens were almost immediately claimed as mates by the strongest toms and shuffled off to the nursery to give birth to bigger and meaner kits and were mostly ignored after that.

Foxshadow decided that she needed to rest after that big news and relaxed. The sun had warmed her ginger undercoat, making her even more tired than before. After a while, she dozed off.

A paw prodded her side and she dragged herself from unconsciousness at the smell of a very sharp and repugnant herb being shoved into her nose. With a grown, she looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of a dark brown tom with pale yellow eyes and graying whiskers.

"Hello," he meowed neutrally. "My name is Barkface and I'm WindClan's medicine cat. Who are you?"

The massive she-cat blinked and forced her head up, only able to raise it a tail's width off the ground. "Foxshadow, warrior of ThunderClan." Then she slumped, her mind swimming in a sea of darkness that threatened to drag her back into unconsciousness.

"Eat this, Foxshadow," meowed Barkface, shoving another unfamiliar herb into her face. "It will give you strength."

Foxshadow made a noise and clamped her mouth around the herbs, for a few heartbeats unable to work up the strength to chew. She felt the other herb shoved into her nose, its sharp stench waking her briefly, before she found herself chewing intermittently and swallowing the leaf almost whole. A few heartbeats later, it was gone and Foxshadow dropped her head back into her paws to sleep again. She barely heard the tom leave the den as she drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: Sabletail is Sasha, mother of Hawk, Moth and Tadpole in canon but not so much here. There's going to be a lot of cats being born to the wrong parents but with generally the same coat color results, that's for sure. And yes, Lightpelt is Smoke, the mother of Darktail.  
**

 **Also, Sasha's name, Sabletail, is in reference to the Sable, a Russian marten (a weasely creature, not a bird). Since Sasha was a Russian name, I thought she should have a Russian sounding warrior name to go with it. Lo, Sabletail was born.**

 **Hope you enjoy the update and don't forget to leave a review!**


	23. Fire and Ice pt 11

**A/N: Another chapter update! Woohoo!  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: If you want to check out the other arcs, there are pdfs online that you can find and download, but I'm not sure if they are 100% free of viruses. If that fails, you can look at the warriors wikia for summaries. They try to keep their information as accurate as possible, but I know from personal experience that 5% of their "accurate" information comes from noncanon or unconfirmed sources. However, their summaries and cliffnotes are accurate. ALSO, you're right, her scent shouldn't disappear, unless Foxshadow disguised her scent. I forgot to write that part in, so thanks for mentioning that. Heh.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Which prophecy? And yeah, Kittypets and Warrior Cats have this massive cultural difference that I always felt needed much more exploration - which I've been trying to do, I guess. Woo! (1) Probably. Unfortunately, she's not thinking of that. (2) Barley... Barley... he's been so neglected in my story. I feel bad for him. (3) Yup, probably. (4) It really isn't. (5) Read this chapter to find out! :P  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Aw, thank you! I honestly don't think I'm being that creative with the names. I get inspired easily, I guess. XD  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: Thank you for the review! And the answer is... because WindClan is back in WindClan territory? Sorry if that was confusing!  
**

* * *

It was hard to imagine it had only been a halfmoon since Ravenfeather, Flintfang and Whiteclaw were sent out in search of WindClan, a full day since Foxshadow had disappeared into WindClan territory and only three days since Brackenpaw, Cinderpaw and Thornpaw were made into apprentices. Fireheart felt like it had been moons since Ravenfeather had left, and he was surprised to see him back so soon. Surely WindClan had been further away from the forest than that?

"Ravenfeather," meowed Fireheart, dread coloring his greeting. "We weren't expecting you back so soon."

"I don't think even _we_ were expecting to be back so soon," meowed Ravenfeather, looking half-amused and a little bewildered. "But WindClan was already on it's way back before we could even find them and we just crossed paths along the way." He glanced at the four cats, blinking at Brackenpaw in surprise before noticing Dustpelt's expression. "What happened?"

Fireheart didn't have the heart to tell Ravenfeather that Foxshadow had disappeared. "I would tell you, honestly, but I am not entirely sure of anything myself right now."

Ravenfeather furrowed his brow in confusion and feel silent when Bluestar stepped up to greet them.

"Tigerclaw," she meowed, her nose wrinkling. "I hope you have an explanation for smelling of the moor."

Tigerclaw dipped his head gracefully and politely. "Dustpelt and Fireheart insisted that we go and collect Foxshadow's body," he meowed, pausing, as if hesitant to be the bearer of bad news. "But it seems Foxshadow has taken the opportunity to desert us."

"That isn't true!" mewed Dustpelt, staring at Tigerclaw in shock. "Foxshadow wouldn't just leave like that!" He turned to Bluestar. "There was a huge puddle of dried blood where she was, Bluestar. She must have wandered off while she was delirious with pain." He looked at Yellowfang, who had lumbered over with a impassive expression on her features, as if he hoped the medicine cat would back him up on this.

Bluestar looked expectantly at Yellowfang, who dipped her head. "It is possible," the dark gray she-cat admitted, "that she was delirious from blood loss. However, if it was so serious, she _shouldn't_ be able to walk around without leaving a trail." The old she-cat looked pointedly at Dustpelt. "Did you see anything?"

"No," meowed Dustpelt, ears flattening and tail drooping. "She's just gone."

Bluestar spoke in a calm mew. "If Foxshadow is alive, then we will see her again, I am sure of it." The fur along her spine was prickling with an unease which Fireheart could sympathize with, but for entirely different reasons. "However, I remember quite clearly that I said that no cat should go looking for her. I am sure you all remember this?"

Fireheart glanced at Dustpelt, then at Brackenpaw, before finally looking nervously at Tigerclaw. The big dark brown tabby tom blinked at Bluestar. "But surely these are special circumstances..."

Bluestar shook her head. "I do not want any more of my warriors putting themselves in harms way. We do not have enough as is, especially now that Swiftpaw and Brightpaw's apprentice ceremonies have been delayed."

Tigerclaw dipped his head. "It will not happen again, Bluestar."

Bluestar frowned minutely at this statement. "For all our sakes, Tigerclaw, I hope no one does." Her gaze flickered to Fireheart and then Dustpelt. "All four of you will be confined to the camp for the next three days. You will keep vigil at night and make sure no one else does something like this in the future. You're dismissed."

Fireheart flattened his ears at the rebuff and looked at the crestfallen Brackenpaw. "Bluestar," he meowed, "what about Brackenpaw's apprenticeship?"

Bluestar glanced at the young pale brown tom. "You can mentor Brackenpaw until Foxshadow returns."

Fireheart jerked in surprise. He'd only been a warrior for two days and now he was a mentor on top of that?

"You know what Foxshadow would have wanted him to do," Bluestar reasoned. "If Foxshadow does not return before the Gathering, I will think about a permanent mentor."

Fireheart nodded, only slightly relieved, and looked around for Brackenpaw. The pale brown tom seemed stunned by the news. Fireheart put his tail-tip on the young apprentice's shoulder and earned a blink in response.

"Let's practice a couple of hunting crouches," Fireheart meowed slowly, his soft voice sounding almost sad. "I am sure Foxshadow would want you ready to hunt for the Clan."

Brackenpaw nodded, immediately cheered. "Okay!"

Ravenfeather padded after them. "Fireheart, can we talk?" he asked, still confused about what was going on. "Tell me what happened to Foxshadow."

Fireheart felt his dread return and he licked his lips in the hopes of wetting his suddenly dry mouth. "Well, you see, Ravenfeather..."

The two eventually settled down outside the prisoner's den, only paying partial attention to Brackenpaw as they shared stories. Ravenfeather seemed to grow increasingly more nervous as Fireheart went on, and when Fireheart had finished his tale, Ravenfeather had pressed into his side and was looking around as if expecting Tigerclaw to come and pounce on him now that Foxshadow as gone.

Fireheart felt out of his depth; he had no idea how he was going to protect Ravenfeather now that Foxshadow as gone and had to admit to himself that she was perhaps the only thing standing between Ravenfeather and Tigerclaw, with her quick thinking and readiness to come to Ravenfeather's defense. He had heard about what happened the day before the two had been made apprentices, and Fireheart doubted that even Tigerclaw would dare to challenge someone who had taken on a fox while still an apprentice and won.

 _But Tigerclaw took on that same fox earlier that day,_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Graystripe's reminded him.

Suddenly self-conscious, Fireheart glanced around and hoped to catch a glimpse of the pale gray tom and his distinctive black stripe, but Graystripe was nowhere to be found. An uneasy, dawning realization filled him as he sat up and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Ravenfeather asked, legs trembling minutely as he copied Fireheart and stood up. "Is it Tigerclaw?"

"Where's Graystripe?" asked Fireheart.

The black tom breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. "He left on a hunting patrol before you returned from the dawn patrol."

"Isn't Sandstorm in charge of hunting patrols?" meowed Fireheart, remembering many days of torture during Graystripe's apprentice punishment. "She's supposed to take all the apprentice's out for special training."

Ravenfeather frowned. "I don't know. I just got here." He looked around. "Maybe because Swiftpaw and Brightpaw are confined to camp, she decided not to? She has her own apprentice to take care of now, remember?"

Fireheart nodded, somewhat satisfied that Graystripe wasn't out getting himself into trouble, and he turned his attention back to Ravenfeather. "So," he meowed, feeling suddenly awkward after his outburst, "what happened on the journey?"

"We traveled alone together for about a quarter moon," meowed Ravenfeather. "Flintfang from ShadowClan, Whiteclaw from RiverClan and me. Flintfang and Whiteclaw insisted that we follow the thunderpath northward, since that seemed the most logical place to go. Apparently, on the other side of ShadowClan territory and a few day's journey beyond, there is this massive stretch of grasslands that is perfect for WindClan territory except it is completely over run with badger sets. WindClan had tried to settle there at first, but after losing some of their warriors they decided that it was better to leave. We picked up their trail a day before they started to head towards Highstones, and we were able to meet up with them there. A quarter moon after that, we ended up coming back here."

Fireheart felt relieved. "Sounds like you had an easy time of it," he meowed.

"Hardly," meowed Ravenfeather with an amused purr. "All Flintfang and Whiteclaw did was argue about whether or not ShadowClan had any fishing rights. You see, in ShadowClan, the only prey they have is frogs, rats, birds and sometimes squirrels, except in this massive meadow in their northwesternmost part of their territory. The meadow is this huge lake covered in green algae that almost looks like grass, so you can only tell there's water there when you step on it and fall in. There is tonnes of fish in the water, from trout to salmon to minnow to tadpoles, and ShadowClan started hunting there just to add to their freshkill pile. Whiteclaw was not happy to hear about _that!_ " Ravenfeather let out a throaty purr. "Flintfang taught me how to fish in this small stream we found. I caught a small trout but it wasn't as good as treerats." He lowered his voice, his voice playful and amused. "That's what ShadowClan calls squirrels."

Fireheart purred in amusement, remembering the red and gray squirrels which Foxshadow would constantly be chewing on in the camp with Dustpelt if she was not out hunting or doing something else. His thoughts drifted to the small stream that the ThunderClan-disguised patrol had used to wash the marshwater out of their fur. "Ravenfeather," he meowed, a thought coming to his mind, "maybe we should try hunting in the stream sometime."

Ravenfeather stopped laughing, his expression morphing into one of confusion. "Why?"

"Well," meowed Fireheart, unsure how to phrase his response, "because I think that is what Foxshadow would want us to do."

Ravenfeather paused thoughtfully. "She always said that RiverClan needed to expand their prey supply," he meowed, "maybe ThunderClan should, too."

"Exactly," meowed Fireheart.

"I don't really think that's what she meant," meowed a familiar voice, making the two warriors jump.

Fireheart looked down at the young, pale brown apprentice in surprise and suddenly felt guilty for neglecting the tom. "Sorry, Brackenpaw," he meowed. "I completely forgot about your training."

Brackenpaw looked somewhat annoyed by this. "I noticed," he meowed, but seemed to dismiss the thought. "I know Foxshadow would hunt rabbits, bankvoles and squirrels more than anything else, but I don't think she'd want us eating the fish. I think she just wanted RiverClan to stop focusing on just fish and focus on learning how to hunt other prey as well so they won't starve, because that would be the smart thing to do."

"Like us with the rabbits?" meowed Ravenfeather.

"Yes," meowed Brackenpaw. "ThunderClan has always hunted the rabbits on our territory, right?" The pale brown tom looked between the two warriors. "We don't let it go back to WindClan territory, but we kill it and eat it like any other prey on our territory. RiverClan is _so_ _picky_ about hunting _only_ fish that, if the river is poisoned by twolegs, their main supply of food suddenly disappears, leaving them with nothing."

Fireheart was amazed at Brackenpaw, feeling like he was standing before another, smaller, Foxshadow. "How do you know all that?"

"Foxshadow would always tell me to pay attention to my surroundings," meowed Brackenpaw, with a half-shrug, "and that I should pay attention to my smell, my hearing and my sight. I guess it just helps to make it easier to notice things like that. Do you think that's what Foxshadow wanted me to do?"

Fireheart honestly had no idea what Foxshadow wanted her apprentice to do, but he nodded anyway. "If we weren't confined to camp," he meowed, "I'd take you to the Great Sycamore to practice climbing trees. She told me that a cat cannot be a cat if they cannot climb trees." It wasn't exactly what Foxshadow had said, but Fireheart guessed that was the sentiment behind it. He suddenly realized that Brackenpaw needed something else to do and meowed, "Why don't you go check and see if the elders and queens have been fed yet?"

Brackenpaw nodded, perking up. "Okay!" His expression suddenly became serious and meowed firmly. "I'm going to be the best apprentice in the whole Clan until she gets back." Then he trotted off.

Fireheart frowned and wondered if all apprentices were like this about their mentors or if Foxshadow would be a special case. He looked at Ravenfeather, who was lost in thought and meowed, "What are you thinking about?"

"Just something that Foxshadow once said," Ravenfeather mewed. "She said once that she thought ShadowClan was so used to having mud that having no mud under their paws must be weird to them." Ravenfeather blinked at Fireheart. "Maybe the same could be said of RiverClan and fish."

Fireheart blinked at this and shook his head. "Fish and mud are two completely different things. You wouldn't eat the mud, and you can't wade through fish."

"Well, yes," meowed Ravenfeather, his brow furrowed in his struggling to try and explain his thoughts to Fireheart. "But it's less about mud and fish and more about how used to it they are. ShadowClan would never want to set up camp in one of our territories and RiverClan would never want to eat anything other than fish. ShadowClan doesn't care about how dry our territory is because they are used to how wet their own territory is, and RiverClan doesn't care how much more tasty squirrel is because they have become so used to the taste of fish that they think they enjoy it."

Fireheart tilted his head, unsure if he was really understanding what Ravenfeather was getting at. "So, because ShadowClan likes mud, RiverClan likes fish?"

"I, uh, no," meowed Ravenfeather, suddenly embarrassed. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Fireheart asked, concerned that he wasn't going to understand what Ravenfeather was saying.

"I mean that RiverClan wouldn't think of eating anything other than fish because that's what they are used to eating," meowed Ravenfeather. " _Everything else_ tastes strange to them."

Fireheart blinked at Ravenfeather and thought about what he said for a moment. "Is that why the Clans can't get alone?" he mewed finally. "Because we are all used to different things?"

Ravenfeather furrowed his brow in confusion. "I guess so? Foxshadow could probably explain and understand it better."

Fireheart frowned. "Now I really wish she was back by now."

Ravenfeather looked surprised. "You don't think she died?"

"Of course not. She's going to be back. She promised she would," - Fireheart stole a glance at Tigerclaw. - "and have a feeling she's right."

Ravenfeather followed his gaze to Tigerclaw and shuddered, looking away. "I thought you said she had stopped breathing."

"Yes," meowed Fireheart. "She did stop breathing, but she also promised that she'd be back."

Ravenfeather pressed into Fireheart's side, looking around them. "I hope you're right."

* * *

 **A/N: So, uhm, Labor Day is a no-school day and that means I might be posting the next chapter then, but more than likely I won't be posting anything until next Sat. Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story!  
**

 **Remember to leave a review!**


	24. Fire and Ice pt 12

**A/N: Wooweee... this one was a doozy. Took a long while to write, but it was necessary to get all this information out there or else I'd be writing two extra chapters. I decided to post it tonight since I might not be turning on my computer tomorrow until real late and I have an hour to kill. :) Also, thank you to everyone who left me a review! There was seven of them for last chapter. :3 I love you all!  
**

 **lemon: Nah, you're fine! I forget the names of holidays sometimes, too! Tbh, I mostly group them all together to mean "That day where I have no work or school." I'm so happy to see your name in a review again!**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Aw, thank you! I think I might be adding a bit too much background character characterization moments. Oh, boy, is it a lot to keep track of! Kinda... bogs down the story.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Oh, Barley... I'm afraid I won't be doing much with him beyond hinting at him in this chapter. (1) Oh, no, he thought it was going to be sunshine and roses. (2) Awwww... (3) Ravenfeather is so cute and adorable and I feel terrible for not including him that much in this chapter. He's kind of... giving Foxshadow and Dustpelt space... if you know what I mean. ;) (4) Uhm. (5) Here's a secret: ShadowClan already hunts fish in their marshwater. They just are smart enough not to tell RiverClan that. XD RiverClan needs to get with the times! (6) I can definitely see some of them being loyal to her above the Clan, but that's a topic for Rising Storm and A Dangerous Path.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: That's good! I want them to feel more alive than they felt in the original series. God, I love these characters and I always hope I'm doing them justice... even if they can be OOC sometimes and a little bit off from the books, I hope they can at least feel like real people... or animals. lol**

 **Guest: Heyo! Who are you this time? There are two of you who keep forgetting to log in and one of you who sometimes forgets to leave a name. XD Unfortunately, as I keep telling peops, Tigerclaw's a character for Forest of Secrets... which starts in three chapters.**

 **sierra_stanley_52: This is the chapter for you and all FoxXDust fans out there! Thank you so much for the review! (Also, I know I keep putting _ where a . should be but that's because ffnet keeps mistaking it for a link and deleting it. :( Sorry.)  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: Thank you so much! I was hoping that I gave that impression to some of you guys. I've been trying to build suspense since I first put the prophecy in a chapter.**

* * *

Foxshadow woke inside of the WindClan medicine cat den to the overwhelming smell of dried out roots, grasses, and other herbs. With a pained groan, she gathered her paws underneath her and struggled to her paws, feeling weak and tired, as she tried to poke her head out of the den. A breath of fresh air from the moor seemed to help wake her up a bit more and she realized she was staring out through the entrance of an ancient badger den into the heart of WindClan's new camp.

WindClan camp looked nothing like she remembered it looking, either in the books or from when she was speaking with Sabletail. It was almost as big as ThunderClan camp, with enough room for two monsters to park in side-by-side. A short jagged, sandy rock wall circled the giant clearing and dozens of dens opened out into the center of camp. Foxshadow imagined that any young apprentice or even a young elder could leap out of the camp without any problems, if WindClan hadn't decided to install back exits.

It took her a moment to realize how well defended the camp was. At first, she thought it was the worst possible place to build a camp. If an entire Clan's worth of warriors attacked, the warriors would be trapped in the camp and be completely boxed in. However, Foxshadow had to remind herself that WindClan worked differently than ThunderClan and, while ThunderClan preferred being above ground and sleeping on the grass during the day, WindClan preferred the cooler, enclosed spaced underneath. They were tunnelers, pure and simple, and, while they suffered greatly from a weaker eye-sight as a result, they had the sharpest sense of smell and hearing than any other Clan. They could hear the difference between the pawsteps of a cat in their tunnels and the pawsteps of a cat above their tunnels. It was that advantage that made this the perfect camp. If any Clan sent their warriors down into the valley, the WindClan warriors would burst out of their dens, claw them up and disappear before any of the other Clan cats were any wiser to the scheme. It was genius.

It made her suddenly uncomfortable as she wondered exactly who in WindClan could have possible been smart enough to think of this spot as their new home... a cat who was technically smarter than her. And the idea of a cat being as smart as a human did not sit well with her, mostly because such cats would have to have once been human themselves.

She heard rather than smelled the cat approaching her from behind. She twisted around and narrowed her eyes against the gloom, taking note of the solid brown who crouched at the back of the den, the entrance to some back exit or tunnel, perhaps. The tom had bright pale, calculating eyes and a short, stubby tail. He blinked at her, not surprised to see her so close to the entrance or awake for that matter.

"I see you've woken up," he meowed, putting his herbs down. "How do you feel?"

Foxshadow turned around slowly, wincing at the smell of fresh herbs. "Better," she meowed. "You're Barkface, right?"

He blinked at her. "And you're Foxshadow," he meowed. "Do you remember our conversation?"

"Vaguely," she admitted, wondering if there could have been some other conversation she might have forgotten besides the one with Sasha and the one with Barkface.

"Better than not at all," meowed Barkface, his left cheek twitching in amusement. "I'll fetch Tallstar and something for you to eat."

He stood up, turned and went right back the way he'd come. Foxshadow had half-expected the medicine cat to push passed her into the center of camp, and when he turned around and disappeared she suddenly felt unnerved. Surely no cat alive was smart enough to turn their new camp into such an elaborate death trap for anyone who attempted attack? But, given the circumstances, it seemed like the only thing WindClan could do after having been previously evicted by Brokenstar. If Brokenstar attacked them again, they would be more than ready to handle three times their own number and hold him off, as long as none of their back entrances were discovered.

It felt like an hour before Barkface reemerged from the darkness with an elderly black and white tom, a light brown tabby tom, a dark brown tabby tom, and a pure black tom with a broken paw close on his heels. With a sweeping gesture of his tail, the black and white tom signaled that the two brown warrior leave the den and Foxshadow sensed that they were crouching just out of sight in the darkness, watching and listening carefully. If she tried to leave, she would have to leave through the medicine cat entrance, but when she looked back towards there she saw that some cats had emerged into the clearing and had taken up position on either side of the entrance. She would not be leaving of her own volition here. She licked her lips nervously and turned her attention to the black and white tom.

"I am Tallstar, leader of WindClan," meowed the elderly tom as he dipped his head. "This is Deadfoot, my deputy."

The black tom dipped his head, and Foxshadow's gaze slid to his lame forepaw before darting to look at Tallstar. "I am going to guess that you are wondering what a ThunderClan warrior is doing on WindClan territory."

"We know that a ThunderClan patrol fought a group of rogues on the border with Fourtrees," meowed Deadfoot, "and that you went through ShadowClan territory to attack them."

Foxshadow blinked and decided it was best to tell them a few half-truths. "One of our apprentices crossed over the border into your territory in an attempt to prove himself against the rogues. We were forced to come to his rescue."

Tallstar blinked at this admission and Deadfoot seemed like he was struggling to maintain a straight face, his lips curling in a partial sneer. "Can ThunderClan," Deadfoot struggled to keep his voice level, "keep its apprentice's under control?"

Foxshadow lifted her head and stared hard at the WindClan deputy, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. "How caged and stifled your Clanmates must feel to be constantly brought under control. I wonder how many of them will resent you for it." She looked at Tallstar with a dismissive ear-flick of towards the deputy. "ThunderClan understands that in order for a warrior to understand what his own strengths and weaknesses are, he must sometimes experience what lays beyond ThunderClan's borders."

Deadfoot blinked in surprise and glanced at Tallstar, who had a knowing gleam in his eyes. The elderly WindClan leader dipped his head to Foxshadow. "Those are indeed wise words."

Foxshadow couldn't help but feel smug at getting the reaction she wanted, and her left cheek quirked up in a half-smirk. "You are wise to recognize them as such, Tallstar." She practically purred as she rose to her paws. "But I should not stay and waste your herbs any longer. When should I be allowed to return to ThunderClan?"

"When our medicine cat has cleared you for the walk," meowed Tallstar, glancing at Barkface.

The WindClan medicine cat bowed his head. "She needs to eat something, Tallstar, and then she will be ready to go."

The elderly black and white tom nodded. "Very well. Onewhisker will bring you something."

Foxshadow flicked her tail tip at the news, not liking the idea of eating WindClan territory rabbits when there were plenty back in ThunderClan territory. In a way, it felt like she was stealing their prey, especially since all the rabbits in ThunderClan territory technically came from WindClan territory to begin with. She didn't voice any of this aloud and dipped her head silently to the WindClan leader.

"Thank you, Tallstar," she meowed.

Tallstar nodded and then he and his deputy left. Barkface disappeared deeper into the den and left Foxshadow alone with her thoughts.

Foxshadow thought over her conversation with Sabletail and couldn't help but wonder how Sasha could have known that Brokenstar had nine lives... unless she saw him die and come back herself. Was it possible that Brokenstar still had nine lives? Foxshadow licked her paw and swiped it over her ear with a frown. If Brokenstar was able to establish a Clan, there was a possibility that StarClan restored what nine lives he lost when he was kicked out of ShadowClan. This would make the DarkClan leader that harder to kill.

But Foxshadow doubted that Brokenstar would establish a new Clan and then not use them to get his revenge. That begged the question of who he was going to get his revenge on. If he had established his base in the barn, which was far away from ShadowClan and ThunderClan, it was a safe bet that he wasn't going to go after either of them. Foxshadow's best guess was that he was planning to have revenge against StarClan. This begged the question of how, where and when.

 _If I was Brokenstar, where, when and how would I enact revenge against StarClan?_ she asked herself. Her first thought was at the Moonstone, but that seemed counterproductive if Brokenstar wanted to get his nine lives. Besides, Brokenstar couldn't hope to cave in that ancient twoleg mine. No, he would need a more feasible way to get his revenge.

She licked her paw again and swiped it over her other ear. A noise at the front of the den made her turn around and she watched as the light brown tabby from before dropped a souslik in front of her. Foxshadow wasn't surprised that it wasn't a rabbit - Why give a stranger a piece of prey that could feed three fully grown warriors? - but she was surprised to see the ground squirrel among WindClan's freshkill.

"I'm told it tastes just like squirrel," joked Onewhisker.

Foxshadow couldn't help a purr. "Is that all for me?"

Onewhisker nodded.

Foxshadow wolfed down the entire prey and licked her lips, growing thoughtful as she stared at the remains of the prey. "I'm trying to think," she meowed, "of when Brokenstar is planning to attack the Clans."

The WindClan warrior jolted in surprise and shock. "Brokenstar is planning to attack the Clans?"

The dark brown and white she-cat narrowed her eyes and snorted. "As if he'd do anything less," she meowed darkly. "Have you cats even been paying attention? He's the one who ran you out of your territory and yet you don't think he's not going to come back?"

Onewhisker blinked. "I thought he was dead."

"He will be," promised Foxshadow. "Once I get my claws in him."

The WindClan warrior stared at her with wide eyes. "What do you know about them?"

"Them?"

"The rogues."

"You mean DarkClan." Foxshadow licked her lips. "Nothing the rest of the Clans didn't already know before I found their camp. They live up at Barley's Barn now, where the mice are plentiful, but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept hunting around here. They don't seem the type to know that they should only kill to eat." Foxshadow realized that ThunderClan might be suffering that same problem, since they kept sending out hunting patrols when the freshkill pile still had prey on it. Could that be a Tigerclaw problem or just a ThunderClan problem in general? Foxshadow put that on her list of things to change if she became deputy.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Onewhisker challenged.

Foxshadow licked her paw, suddenly irritated. "How can you be so sure they won't? What do you know about these DarkClan cats that the rest of us don't?" She snorted and looked away. "Don't make assumptions about these cats, especially when those assumptions contradict everything we know about these cats. They won't remain peaceful - of that you WindClan cats can be certain. Their leader has already successfully driven you out of your territory. Their cats have no interest in establishing any borders, and you can bet they won't care about respecting them when they decide to come looking for prey. Fortunately for you WindClanners, you have relocated to the best place for fighting off large amounts of cats. You'll be able to withstand any attack from here, better than the rest of us. You should feel safe."

Onewhisker looked like he felt the opposite of safe. Foxshadow couldn't help but think he was a stupid tom.

"You should tell Tallstar this," meowed Onewhisker.

"I told _you_ ," meowed Foxshadow. " _You_ can tell him. I need to report what I've discovered back to Bluestar. Tell Tallstar if he wants to learn more, he can escort me all the way to ThunderClan camp himself. Bluestar can give him all the information we've gathered - even information that I'm not privy to."

Foxshadow licked her paw thoughtfully and glanced over her shoulder, only to realize that Onewhisker had disappeared. Unsure if he had heard everything she had said, Foxshadow waited nervously for the WindClan patrol to show up and escort her to the border. She would rather not stay in WindClan camp for longer than she needed, especially when she half-convinced ThunderClan thought she had either died or abandoned them.

A while later, Tallstar appeared at the entrance along with the dark brown tabby from before, another black tom, Onewhisker and Deadfoot.

Tallstar looked at Foxshadow and meowed, "Onewhisker has told me that you know something about the rogues and that Bluestar will be wiling to share this information if I speak to her personally."

Foxshadow rose to her paws. "In essence, that is what I said," she meowed, glancing at Onewhisker before dismissing him with an ear flick. "She has more information about them than I do, I'm sure. Since all the Clans had agreed to share information about them while you were away, I am sure Bluestar will extend that courtesy to WindClan as well." _Though I doubt she will be willing to after I return and tell her this_ , she thought, deciding to keep the animosity between herself and her leader a secret from these WindClan cats. "However, the final decision is hers."

Tallstar nodded. "Very well."

Tallstar, Onewhisker, and the dark brown tabby Foxshadow learned was Mudclaw, all escorted her to the edges of WindClan territory and across Fourtrees into ThunderClan territory. They hesitated on the border long enough to scent that the dawn border patrol had already long since passed and that the sunhigh patrol had not yet passed. They decided to wait for the sunhigh patrol.

Foxshadow as glad she had eaten the souslik because she was already starting to feel weak and she knew that, if she hadn't eaten it, she would be feeling even more tired than she already did. She struggled not to collapse from exhaustion and wrapped her tail around her paws, occasionally stepping on it with claws extended to keep herself awake. It was, surprisingly, not working.

As sunhigh approached and passed, Foxshadow found her thoughts wandering back to her earlier question. Where, when and how would Brokenstar launch an attack that would effectively wound StarClan? Where was surprisingly easy to answer - they had passed the right kind of place just an half hour before; the great big bowl known as Fourtrees was the perfect place to ambush all the Clans at once. When, then, was easily answered. What better way to spit on the face of StarClan than to attack them during a Gathering, where a truce was held, and all the Clans were at their weakest?

Which left the last question. How? The light of the full moon would prevent anyone from sneaking up on the Clans and everyone knew that darkness helped sound to carry farther, especially on nights without any wind. Brokenstar couldn't hope to survive an attack against all four Clans without far more cats at his disposal - though if Iceclaw's collar was to suggest, he had already made a deal with BloodClan and had all the cats that he needed. Foxshadow felt the fur on her neck raise in alarm. She had to try to explain all of this to Bluestar and Tallstar, if Bluestar would let her share this news with the WindClan leader, and she had to do it without sounding like she was making stuff up.

But how would Brokenstar attack on a full moon?

Foxshadow blinked out of her thoughts when she heard the faint sounds of cats thundering through the forest. She glanced around at the tense WindClan cats and rose to her paws, letting out a yowl.

"ThunderClan, hold!"

The thundering turned into a quieter padding and the ThunderClan warriors emerged out of the forest. Foxshadow was surprised to see Longtail, Mousefur, and Brightpaw.

"Foxshadow," meowed Mousefur in surprise and relief, hesitating as she took in the sight of the WindClan warriors. She dipped her head politely to Tallstar. "Tallstar."

Foxshadow padded forward, taking stock of their expressions. "I am going to guess that you weren't expecting me to return."

"We thought you were dead," meowed Brightpaw softly, padding up to Foxshadow and pressing her nose into the massive she-cat's shoulder fur. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Foxshadow blinked at her. "Of course I'm okay." She smiled what she hoped was reassuringly at the obviously worried apprentice and put her tail on her shoulder. "There isn't a cat alive that can kill me.

"Dustpelt is going to be glad to see you," meowed Longtail.

Foxshadow felt her fur warm up and she coughed, looking at Mousefur. "Tallstar wants to speak with Bluestar about the rogues and I have some more information on them that could be useful to every Clan."

Mousefur nodded, before looking over the WindClan patrol. "We will escort you to the camp," she meowed.

Foxshadow glanced around and frowned at this idea, but said nothing. Tallstar would not risk a fight when he wanted to know about his enemy next door, despite the fact that he could easily overpower them. Foxshadow turned her attention to comforting Brightpaw, who wasn't as good at bouncing back emotionally as Cinderpaw was, and allowing the she-cat to press into her shoulder.

"I thought you died," the apprentice meowed. "It's all my fault. I should never have encouraged him."

"You were just trying to protect him," mewed Foxshadow soothingly. "He would have gone on without you. You and I both know it. You did a good thing when you tried to protect him."

When they reached the top of the ravine, Foxshadow found herself relaxing and enjoying the feel of being home again. As they descended the rise and entered camp, she looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dustpelt. _If he isn't on patrol_ , she reasoned, _he has to be in camp somewhere_.

Her attention jerked away when she realized that the Clan had started to gather around them. Muted hellos were mixed with displeased hisses directed towards the WindClan cats on their territory. Foxshadow watched Mousefur pad out of Bluestar's den and the blue-gray ThunderClan leader herself pad out into the middle of camp. Foxshadow tensed when those icy blue eyes landed on her and found herself slowly padded towards the leader, ready to explain, but Bluestar quickly looked away towards Tallstar. Confused, Foxshadow ducked her head and backed off, sitting down.

"I was not expecting WindClan's leader," Bluestar mewed and dipped her head. "It is good to see that WindClan has returned to their hunting grounds."

"No small thanks to ShadowClan and ThunderClan," mewed Tallstar, dipping his head. "We heard that you have information on the rogues. We would be interested in hearing about it."

"Of course," mewed Bluestar. "I promised to share that information with ShadowClan and RiverClan. I would also be willing to share that information with you, especially after you have returned to us our resident expert on the subject."

"She has told me she has more information to share but will not share it without your presence or permission," mewed Tallstar. "After all you did for us, we thought it was wise not to interrogate her as thoroughly as we might have at any other time."

Foxshadow glanced over her shoulder with a frown, hoping to see Dustpelt crawl out of the warrior's den but frowning when she saw nothing. She looked back at Bluestar and realized that the she-cat was gesturing for her to follow the blue-gray queen into the leader's den. Frowning, Foxshadow followed after her and noted that Tallstar followed. They crowded into Bluestar's small den and Foxshadow pressed into the wall to allow Tallstar room and to let some light shine through. Bluestar curled up on her nest and wrapped her long-furred tail around her whole body, before she looked expectantly at Foxshadow.

Realizing that she was going to have to explain everything, she began with what she had discovered. "I have located the rogues' camp. They call themselves DarkClan and they are living in the twoleg barn, the same one where a black and white loner used to live in. He went by the name Barley and I have no idea what has happened to him." Foxshadow glanced at Tallstar and noted the tom's tail twitch thoughtfully. "I have discovered that most of DarkClan is composed of rogues, loners and ex-kittypets. Some of these come from a Clan that is similar to ours, known as BloodClan. BloodClan doesn't follow the warrior code or any kind of code that is similar to it. They force their toms to train to become the strongest and force their queens, she-cats and kits to hunt for themselves until they are old enough to prove themselves useful to their leaders. All of their members and ex-members are marked with a dogtooth-studded collar, which protects their neck from the killing bite or blow." She hesitated. "DarkClan has three queens currently pregnant, one of which I met with personally and who is Blackfoot's unwilling mate. They have Clan names now, including Sabletail, Whiteflower and Lightpelt, and they are being forced to hunt for the Clan. I was able to identify that their leader is Brokenstar and that their deputy is Blackfoot. I could not identify if all ShadowClan rogues were present. I was only able to get the names of two unknown warriors, Iceclaw and a cat called Smoke. That was everything I could discover."

Bluestar nodded. "You've done well," she mewed, and Foxshadow was surprised that her compliment didn't sound forced.

Foxshadow dipped her head. "Bluestar, I believe that Brokenstar is preparing for war." She glanced at Tallstar. "He's planning to make an attack on all the Clans at the Gathering."

Bluestar bristled and stood up, glancing briefly at Tallstar before returning her focus on Foxshadow. "Explain."

"Brokenstar would not set up camp so far from ThunderClan and ShadowClan if he planned on taking revenge on us specifically, so we can safely assume that he is planning on attack _all of us_. On everyone, to get revenge on StarClan." She dipped her head towards Bluestar. " _You_ know why."

Bluestar nodded. "Continue."

"With WindClan gone, he had a straight line to take his warriors straight toward Fourtrees. You've seen Fourtrees; it's the perfect place to set up an ambush. If someone who wants to spit on StarClan, they'd use that as their battleground and the best time to do that is during the Gathering."

The blue-gray queen sprang out of her nest. "You go too far, Foxshadow. StarClan will protect us."

Foxshadow looked at Tallstar and then dipped her head. "I am only telling you what I have discovered and what I have come to understand." She felt a stab of pain, wondering what would happen if the cats from all the Clans ended up on the Gathering that day. _Tallstar, if you can understand what I am saying, please delay your arrival at the Gathering for as long as possible._

"You are dismissed, Foxshadow," mewed Bluestar, a faint edge to her voice that made Foxshadow flinch.

 _I've disappointed you again, Bluestar_ , she thought. "Yes, Bluestar." The massive dark brown and white she-cat turned and padded out of the den.

 _I might be the resident expert on DarkClan_ , she thought, _but that doesn't mean Bluestar will listen._

The moment she felt the rays of the sun hit her back, she was tackled to the ground by a familiar ball of dark brown fur.

"Foxshadow, you're back!"

Foxshadow felt her mood whiplash as she turned toward her attacker, a loud purr in her throat. "Dustpelt, you mousebrain!"

The two rolled over each other and Foxshadow twisted away from Dustpelt's playful nips, her back paws pushing him around and away so she could stand up. Dustpelt was staggering away on all fours when he turned around and bit her ear, pressing up beside her.

"Would you let go?" she asked, embarrassed as she realized that everyone in camp was purring at them.

"I knew they'd get together," mewed a pregnant Goldenflower, looking almost smug as if she expected the other queens to pay up on some unknown bet. Brindleface rolled her eyes.

"I can't wait to see their kits!" Frostfur announced, purring loudly while Mistlekit played around her paws.

Foxshadow ducked her head and was grateful that Dustpelt switched to licking her ear instead of biting it. She looked at Dustpelt and rolled her eyes at the goofiest expression on his face, before shoving around him like a cat might do to a twoleg's leg.

"Alright, now, where's my apprentice?"

Dustpelt hesitated, frowning. "Fireheart took him to the Great Sycamore for climbing practice." He lifted his head. "Sandstorm and I just returned from training our apprentices."

Foxshadow nodded. "Sounds like Fireheart did actually listen to me about Brackenpaw's training. I can't wait to put that tom through his paces!"

"But until then, maybe we should talk?" meowed Dustpelt, suddenly nervous as he pressed into Foxshadow's side.

Foxshadow was reminded of how Ravenfeather used to do this before they had become warriors and couldn't help an amused purr. "Do you need to be groomed?"

Dustpelt stiffened. "I do not."

The massive she-cat nudged his shoulder gently and purred. "Are you sure? You look a bit frazzled."

Dustpelt looked like he was going to protest that some more before he wilted. "Can you blame me? I was worried."

Foxshadow blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

Dustpelt drew in a sharp breath. "Foxscar," he meowed seriously, causing Foxshadow to tilt her head. "I love you."

Foxshadow became very still, stunned.

"I realized that I loved you the moment Fireheart reported that you had... that you had died." Dustpelt seemed to struggle to keep his emotions together. "And I was thinking- er, _hoping_ that you could become my mate?"

Foxshadow stared at Dustpelt blankly. She was remembering a conversation she had with Goldenflower a long time ago, when she was still Bark and Snowkit was still alive. _"I'm sure you'd make a great mother,"_ the queen had said. She couldn't help but remember her plan to become deputy and how she needed a mate in order to have the kits necessary to step down from her deputy position.

 _Would he just become a tool for me to use?_

"Foxshadow?"

Dustpelt was watching her intensely - a look she had become very familiar with. He was studying her, getting to know her, as if he could peer through her layers to the she-cat underneath.

"You don't have to answer right away," he meowed, his voice confident and firm, "and you don't have to answer yes. I don't want to force you into this."

Foxshadow relaxed, purring. "Dustpelt," she meowed, "I love you, too, but I'm not sure I'm ready for kits."

Dustpelt's shoulders tensed and, for a brief moment, Foxshadow thought he was preparing to leap straight up into the air. He shifted his paws restlessly. "Okay," he meowed, eyes wide and bright as he touched her nose. "We won't have kits until you want them."

Foxshadow purred at the hyperactive warrior as he struggled to contain himself. "Thank you, Dustpelt."

The dark brown dusky tabby gave a controlled nod, rose to his paws and seemed to try his best to keep a dignified walk as he padded away towards Thornpaw, Sandstorm and Cinderpaw. Foxshadow suddenly remembered that Onewhisker and Mudclaw were both present and saw that Ravenfeather had descended into a deep conversation with them, asking about how the Clan was and what was going on. Reflexively, at the sight of Ravenfeather, Foxshadow glanced around for Tigerclaw, who was nowhere around camp. Neither was Graystripe.

An uneasy feeling filled her as she turned back towards Bluestar's den. Tallstar padded out a half-hour later, gesturing with his tail towards his warriors. Bluestar walked out a second later, her pelt smooth and head raised with dignity.

"Mousefur, Longtail, Ravenfeather, Sandstorm," she meowed. "Escort Tallstar and his warriors back to Fourtrees."

Foxshadow watched as the four ThunderClan warriors rose and padded out of camp, surrounding the three WindClan cats before escorting them out and away from camp. Ravenfeather turned her attention to Bluestar, but the blue-gray queen had already vanished back into her den. Foxshadow glanced skyward and noted the position of the sun.

 _The Gathering is only a few days away..._

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, look, we are almost at the end of Fire and Ice. One last chapter with Fireheart and then the last chapter with Foxshadow.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys next weekend.  
**

 **Edit: And we have officially passed the 100k word mark! Woohoo!**


	25. Fire and Ice pt 13

**A/N: Apologizes to all of you who were looking for an update yesterday - I was bedridden and only had the chapter half finished. I hope this makes up for that.**

 **ClexaWarrior2018: EEee, I'm so glad you love this story that much. Thank you so much for the review!**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Oh, that is not a mistake! It was his name for her when she was still Foxface and he isn't about to let it go. :)**

 **S1L3NT: If it had been Fireheart who told her, she would definitely had given it more consideration. Fireheart's reaction to what tho? The face of darkness that will bathe the forest in blood? :)  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: Long time no see! Thank you for the review, and I'm so glad you loved it! :3**

 **AnonChan1: Lol, I update fast mostly because I right fast and have most of this already plotted out. (A) Accentuating the strengths and weaknesses of all the Clans is important, imo. (B) Barkface and Deadfoot are the difference between a medicine cat's mindset and a warrior's mindset, one who very freely gives aid to a cat who is injured and the other who is suspicious of said cat. You know, how stereotypically medicine cats and warriors should be in all the Clans. (C) Nope, they weren't, but they are prepared for it all the same, which is good. (D) Whew, I'm glad the conclusion didn't seem far fetched. That would have really messed me up. (E) Who knows? (F) Dustpelt is best mate/dad ever. I'm so glad I decided not to make him mate with his own niece. FernXDust cringe.**

* * *

Fireheart had not been surprised to see Foxshadow alive but had been confused as to how she had managed to survive long enough for WindClan to arrive and treat her wounds. He remembered clearly that she had stopped breathing before she had told him to leave WindClan territory and her behind. He could also remember Tigerclaw's exclamation, that she could not be dead, and his disdain at finding out that she had vanished, as if he knew she had walked away from the fight.

He had searched her form for the wound which should have cost her her life, but like the spot on her shoulder where the fox cub had bit her a long time ago and the bite marks on her forepaw from when Blackfoot bit her, it had grown over with white fur. Because it was on her chest, it was hidden among the rest of the white fur that spread across her throat, up to her chin and down to her belly. She looked like she had never been wounded by the DarkClan tom at all.

Fireheart remembered clearly that Foxshadow had been so utterly convinced that she would return, something which he had mistaken for bravery - not that she wasn't brave. No cat could say that she wasn't brave, but it confirmed sone of his thoughts. Foxshadow couldn't die. That was the only explanation for what had happened. Foxshadow had practically told him that and he hadn't believed her and, from Tigerclaw's reaction to her supposed death, Fireheart knew that Tigerclaw knew this fact as well. Foxshadow couldn't die.

Fireheart felt a stab of guilt for leaving her behind for a DarkClan patrol to find. Except, he didn't remember DarkClan's scent being fresher than the scent from the battle when he went to the WindClan territory afterwards. Perhaps they had never returned at all and Foxshadow had sent him away specifically so she could do whatever it is she wanted to do on WindClan territory that she could only do alone. It made sense since she went to spy on DarkClan.

 _Maybe she isn't really Clan material if she did it on her own. A Clan's supposed to work together after all.  
_

Fireheart frowned to himself. He couldn't help but think of the two cats Foxshadow had influences and inspired, Ravenfeather and Brackenpaw, and how devastated they would be if they had discovered she went on some spy mission alone and died as a result. What had she been thinking?

Fireheart shook his head. He was never going to understand Foxshadow and why she did things, but he could appreciate her bravery in spying on DarkClan. She was a warrior, even if she wasn't a very good Clan cat. It took Fireheart a moment to realize that Foxshadow was _flawed_. It was shocking for him to think that, but it was true, but everyone else seemed to forgive her flaws because she looked and acted like a warrior. He raised his head and promised to himself that he wouldn't let that get to him, because he was a good warrior too whether the Clan liked it or not and he was going to prove it to them one day.

Fireheart was lying down in front of the medicine cat den while dawn settled over ThunderClan camp. He had been assigned to the dawn patrol, alongside Graystripe and Runningwind, but the pale gray tom with his distinct black stripe was nowhere to be found. If Graystripe did not show up, Fireheart would have to wake up Ravenfeather to replace him and that left an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. His best friend just wasn't replaceable.

But he had warrior duties to preform and, after burying the remains of his prey, he walked into the warrior den and woke up the nervous black tom. Fireheart noticed how calmly Ravenfeather seemed to wake up and take in his surroundings, so different from the perpetually nervous black apprentice who had constantly looked over his shoulder. Another thing that Foxshadow's mere presence had somehow caused. Fireheart pushed down the envy in his chest and gestured towards the entrance without a word. Ravenfeather followed, and the two carefully moved around the other warriors without disturbing them.

"What's up? mewed Ravenfeather once they were out of the den, glancing around reflexively and noting Tigerclaw was in his usual position under the Highrock. He tensed minutely but returned his focus on Fireheart.

"Graystripe's missing," mewed Fireheart, not liking the reminder that Tigerclaw was watching them. Perhaps Tigerclaw had added Graystripe to the patrol because the cat hadn't been around enough to do any duties. Fireheart somehow doubted that the reason was actually so innocent. "We need someone to fill in his spot on the patrol."

Ravenfeather blinked thoughtfully. "I haven't seen him in a few days." He glanced around, as if expecting the warrior to emerge from the shadows, a smile on his face and a joke on his tongue.

Fireheart felt his stomach turn in dread but shook the thoughts away. "It doesn't matter," he meowed, remembering words that Foxshadow had said. "He needs time and space to realize where his loyalties lie. We can't help him out. He needs to deal with whatever problems he's having alone."

Fireheart would regret those words later.

The patrol padded up to the southernmost edge of their RiverClan border, halting every few foxlengths to mark. Fireheart sniffed the ground every once and while, hoping to catch sight or scent of Graystripe. It was obvious where he could have gone.

A couple of RiverClan cats were perched on Sunningrocks, among them a blue-gray tabby Fireheart recognized as Stonefur. When the RiverClan cat noticed Fireheart, he rose and hurried over to the border.

"ThunderClan!" Stonefur yowled, his voice ringing with authority. "Crookedstar wanted us to give you a message."

Fireheart stopped, his stomach filling with dread. The rest of the patrol had stopped, with Runningwind, being the senior warrior, quickly stepping up to Stonefur.

"Yes, Stonefur?" Runningwind meowed.

The blue-gray tom dipped his head. "Crookedstar wishes for us to inform you that we have one of your warriors prisoner."

"Graystripe?" Fireheart asked, startled.

Stonefur narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

 _This changes everything,_ thought Fireheart. Surely his best friend didn't want to be a prisoner of RiverClan? Fireheart felt sudden hope flare in his chest as well as a resolute determination. Bluestar would never let one of her warriors become a prisoner of RiverClan.

Runningwind dipped his head. "Thank you, Stonefur. We will report this to Bluestar right away."

Stonefur nodded and quickly ducked away, rejoining his Clanmates on Sunningrocks. Fireheart ignored them, eager to return to camp so he could tell Bluestar the news. They finished their border patrol early and Fireheart struggled to stop himself from rushing into Bluestar's den as their border patrol's leader went to tell her the news. Runningwind re-emerged some time later with Bluestar following behind him and Fireheart felt excitement pound in his heart as Bluestar leaped to the top of Highrock.

"Cats of ThunderClan!" the leader yowled, drawing a crowd. Fireheart noticed Foxshadow emerge from the warriors den, looking tired as she stared up expectantly towards Bluestar, with Dustpelt a tail-length behind her. The apprentices were nowhere to be found. Bluestar continued, "RiverClan sends us news. They have captured Graystripe and he is being held prisoner in their camp."

An uncomfortable murmur rose among the Clan cats, and Fireheart noted with a start that no one was yowling for Graystripe's return except for Graystripe's mother, Willowpelt.

"How did this happen?" she demanded.

"We all know how this happened," meowed Tigerclaw, his voice level but a sneer struggling to remain off his face. "He walked right over their border!"

Foxshadow lifted her head and her clear yowl caused everyone to look at her, "We cannot know that for certain." She looked up at Bluestar. "Did Crookedstar say _why_ Graystripe crossed the border?"

Bluestar frowned. "No, they did not, only that he was now their prisoner."

"Then we cannot assume that he is prisoner by choice," meowed Foxshadow, looking around the Clan. "We should all try to gather information on how exactly this happened and try to figure out Graystripe's own view of the situation. He may or may not have gone over the border to join RiverClan."

"What!" Willowpelt yowled, shocked. "Graystripe would never abandon ThunderClan!"

"I know that he is your son," meowed Foxshadow, quickly coming to her own defense, "and I know you are even less interested in losing kits after Darkstripe's death, but if Graystripe is not happy living in ThunderClan, would you want him to stay here?"

Willowpelt's face twisted in anguish and she looked away, struggling to control herself. Fireheart felt sorry for Willowpelt and he thought that Foxshadow could have worded that a bit more tactfully. After all, no one knew for sure that Graystripe wanted to leave ThunderClan.

 _Though I wouldn't be surprised_ , said a tiny voice in his head which he quickly silenced. Surely their friendship meant more than that?

Foxshadow stood up, her massive size towering over most of the Clan and her warm, sun-gold gaze radiating with unknown power. Fireheart was struck with a thought; was Foxshadow so powerful that she could not be harmed by death? Was this glimpse in her eye a window to the power of her warrior spirit? Fireheart blinked the thought away when Foxshadow spoke.

"I personally would feel safer and better if I knew for certain that Graystripe truly loved ThunderClan over RiverClan. I want to know why he keeps venturing out into RiverClan territory when he knows it is wrong to cross the border." Foxshadow looked up at Bluestar and seemed to hesitate. "I hope I am not the only one who wants to know why he keeps crossing the border."

Bluestar nodded. "We all want to know. Tomorrow, I want Fireheart, Ravenfeather and Foxshadow to patrol RiverClan's border on the dawn patrol. We will be interested in what information you can gather before the Gathering tomorrow night. We will decide what to do about it after the Gathering."

Fireheart didn't like the idea of Graystripe being in RiverClan's clutch for even that long, but realized it would be the only way to convince Foxshadow and the rest of ThunderClan that Graystripe had no intention of leaving them. He almost couldn't wait for night to come.

* * *

Fireheart woke to a paw prodding his side gently. He opened his eyes and stared into Foxshadow's strange, glowing sun-gold eyes. She gestured with her nose towards the exit and navigated over the warriors easily without disturbing them. Fireheart blinked his green eyes and found it slightly more difficult to navigate in the dark, and he blinked fewer times when he stepped out of the den.

Ravenfeather was already near the freshkill pile and already had selected a rabbit for all of them to share. Fireheart wasn't all that hungry and only ate one limb, but he watched with fascination as Foxshadow ate the remainder of the prey whole. Fireheart wondered if Foxshadow had an appetite as big as Graystripe's.

The older warrior finally stood up and gestured for them to follow her out of the camp. Foxshadow had led every dawn patrol that Fireheart had been on, so he followed her without question, while Ravenfeather was a natural follower. He found himself questioning this why she was leader as he padded up the ravine and wondered if Foxshadow would ask the right questions and not just assume that Graystripe wanted to be RiverClan's prisoner.

They reached the southernmost border they had with RiverClan and Foxshadow immediately gestured for them to mark things as she scanned the otherside of the border. Fireheart stole his own glances over the border, but none of them saw a single RiverClan cat. They hadn't even marked the border yet, which Fireheart saw as a good sign.

They reached the river quickly and Foxshadow immediately sat down on the muddy banks without a second thought, her gaze turned to across the river towards the RiverClan camp. Fireheart grimaced as the mud squished under his paws and he opted to join Ravenfeather on a nearby rock. They waited for a long while before any RiverClan cat showed up.

Fireheart was not surprised to see Stonefur as the blue-gray tabby swam across, with a familiar pair of smokey black cats. Fireheart vaguely remembered the two from when Whiteclaw had first left to join Ravenfeather and Flintfang on their journey to find WindClan.

"Stonefur," Foxshadow greeted with a dip of her head. "Blackclaw, Shadepaw. I'm surprised you came now that WindClan has returned."

Stonefur hesitated. "We thought it best to keep an eye out after we captured one of your warriors." He studied Foxshadow carefully.

"That is a delicate topic," meowed Foxshadow, a note of disapproval in her voice as she gave him a hard look. "You see, Graystripe had been the apprentice who crossed your borders a while back, if you recall."

Stonefur nodded. "Yes."

"We do not question your honesty regarding him being in your camp," she continued, "but we do question whether or not he is there of his own freewill."

The blue-gray tom blinked in confusion. "Pardon?"

"We believe he might have sought to join RiverClan," meowed Foxshadow, "and we wish to send one ours to speak with him to confirm or deny this."

Stonefur studied Foxshadow carefully, before glancing at the senior warrior, Blackclaw, who said nothing. Stonefur realized he would have to speak for Crookedstar on this matter. "Very well, we will escort one ThunderClan warrior to speak with Graystripe."

Foxshadow blinked and bowed. "Thank you. ThunderClan will send Fireheart to speak with Graystripe."

Fireheart stood up at this announcement and was shocked that Foxshadow hadn't even thought of conferring with Bluestar on this, but he realized he couldn't say this in front of Stonefur. _Is that what a leader of patrol does?_ he wondered. _Or is that just Foxshadow?_ It could explain why Foxshadow and Bluestar came head-to-head sometimes and why they didn't like each other. Foxshadow was too independent. _She's so self-assured_ , Fireheart mentally amended.

"Do you think you can manage the trip, Fireheart?" asked Foxshadow, dragging Fireheart out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yes," he meowed.

"I will wait for you here," Foxshadow meowed, looking at Ravenfeather thoughtfully before turning to look at Stonefur. "Whenever you're ready."

Stonefur nodded and gestured for Fireheart to follow. The RiverClan led Fireheart to the stepping stones behind Sunningrocks, where he made his first crossing. The RiverClan cats opted to swim beside him, quickly making it across with little effort as Fireheart struggled with the slippery steps. He was glad to have mud squishing underneath his paws as he rejoined their patrol and followed them around the bend into RiverClan camp, where they were expected.

Fireheart realized right away which one was Crookedstar. The giant, dark gray tabby with his crookedjaw sat apart from the rest of his Clanmates, standing up tall and straight and looking powerful. Fireheart looked around for Graystripe and saw Silverstream seated beside a den that smell of milk and warmth. She gestured with his nose behind him and Fireheart followed her gaze to see Graystripe sticking his head out from underneath a bush. Fireheart felt instantly relieved and fought the urge to go over to his friend right away.

Stonefur dipped his head to Crookedstar and had a whispered conversation with the tom. Crookedstar nodded, though he looked unhappy with the news and gave Graystripe an angry glare. RiverClan's leader turned to the rest of the Clan. "Fireheart is here to confirm that Graystripe is our prisoner and not here of his own free will."

A murmur rippled through RiverClan, confused and angry. Fireheart watched Crookedstar, who nodded at him, and he padded over to RiverClan's prisoner den.

"Graystripe?" Fireheart asked.

The pale gray tom looked almost guilty. "Hey, Fireheart." He gave his guards a long suffering look and stepped back to give Fireheart more room. Graystripe continued, almost purring. "I'm glad to see you're here."

Fireheart was glad to see his friend wasn't harmed and relaxed, before bristling. "What are you doing here?" he meowed. "Everyone back in ThunderClan thinks you're here of your own freewill."

Graystripe looked shocked and then resigned. "I'm not surprised," he meowed. "Maybe they're right."

"What?" asked Fireheart.

"I'm not really well liked in ThunderClan right now and there's nothing for me there," Graystripe meowed.

"You have me," meowed Fireheart with a frown, his heart pounding.

"Yeah," mewed Graystripe, but his gaze had gone behind Fireheart to something the fiery red tom couldn't see. "But my reputation is ruined back in camp."

"You're not thinking about staying, are you?" asked Fireheart.

Graystripe looked down and suddenly found something in the dirt to paw at. "I think that my heart is telling me to stay here," he meowed. "I think that I should be here, in RiverClan."

Fireheart felt his whole world crash. "What?" he asked softly.

"I'm going to stay in RiverClan," Graystripe meowed, looking at Fireheart with concern.

Fireheart felt his heart plummet. He gave a shallow nod, ears and tails drooping. "But what about Willowpelt?"

"She'll be okay," meowed Graystripe, looking guilty. "She has the Clan."

"But the Clan doesn't have you!" Fireheart meowed, distraught.

"It's better this way," meowed Graystripe, as if to convince himself. "It's my fault that Whitestorm died. If I'm here, then..."

"It's not your fault that Whitestorm died," meowed Fireheart, though he wasn't sure. He hadn't seen what happened to Whitestorm. He had been too focused on Foxshadow during the fight. "You avenged him."

"Because it was my fault he died," meowed Graystripe, frustrated.

Fireheart shook his head. "How is it your fault? What did you do that caused him to die?"

Graystripe did not answer, looking at the floor. "You should go, Fireheart. I'll only drag you behind."

Fireheart felt sudden white hot fury at the statement. Foxshadow had said something similar when they were still apprentices and when Fireheart had been assigned to the dawn patrol instead. "You won't," he said firmly, his anger making his fur stand on end. "You never have."

"Don't kid yourself, Fireheart," meowed Graystripe, fur bristling. "I held you back while we were apprentices. If you hadn't helped me, you would have been a warrior a lot sooner."

"I don't regret it, neither should you," Fireheart meowed.

Graystripe shook his head and turned away from his friend. "It's better this way. Go home, Fireheart."

The fiery red tom seethed, but his anger bleed away to sorrow. He had no idea what to say to convince Graystripe to join them.

"Okay," meowed Fireheart, feeling like his heart was in his paws. "Good-bye, Graystripe."

Fireheart watched Graystripe for a long moment, hoping that Graystripe would turn around and say it was a joke, that he was wrong and wanted to return to ThunderClan. Fireheart turned and padded out into the sunlight. He was not looking forward to telling Foxshadow and Bluestar about this.

Stonefur stood up from his position beside the prisoner's den. "I'll escort you back to ThunderClan."

Fireheart nodded and followed him over the stepping stones and back up the river to where Foxshadow and Ravenfeather waited. Foxshadow dipped her head and said 'thank you' to Stonefur and watched him hurry away across the river. When Foxshadow turned to Fireheart, she merely watched his expression and seemed to understand that Fireheart didn't want to talk about it.

"Let's head back to camp," meowed Foxshadow, "then Fireheart can make his report to Bluestar."

Fireheart was grateful that Foxshadow didn't press for an answer, but a part of him guessed that she already knew from his expression. He had no idea how to feel about that.

When they made it to camp, Fireheart went straight to Bluestar's den to give her the news. He padded passed the lichen curtain and into the dark den where Bluestar was curled in her nest. ThunderClan's leader rose her head at his approach and blinked.

"Fireheart," she meowed.

"I spoke with Graystripe," meowed Fireheart, feeling his throat tightened. "He wants to stay in RiverClan."

Bluestar nodded. "I thought as much. I will announce this to the Clan before the sunhigh patrol goes out." Bluestar hesitated and watched Fireheart thoughtfully. "Graystripe is where he belongs, Fireheart. StarClan is watching over him."

Fireheart felt like Bluestar and most of ThunderClan knew something about Graystripe that he didn't. It stung that Bluestar and Foxshadow both agreed that Graystripe needed this. His heart plummeted into his paws. He realized he was not going to be able to convince anyone that Graystripe needed to be in ThunderClan.

Graystripe was gone.

* * *

At sunhigh, Bluestar made the announcement from Highrock.

"Graystripe has decided to stay in RiverClan," she meowed. The Clan murmured to itself, both resigned and angry. "As for those who will be one the Gathering patrol, I have decided that Fireheart, Dustpelt, Longtail, Runningwind, Tigerclaw, Sandstorm, Smallear, Halftail, One-eye, Dappletail, Rosetail, Brindleface, Willowpelt, Swiftpaw and Brightpaw will be going."

Foxshadow couldn't help a low hiss as she watched Bluestar leap off the Highrock. Five of the cats going were elders and two of the cats going were queens, one of whom was pregnant. Bluestar was risking her Clan's weakest members, just because she didn't want to believe Foxshadow. The dark brown and white she-cat turned away and padded into the warriors den, Dustpelt a few paw steps behind her.

"Are you upset she isn't going to let you go to the Gathering?" Dustpelt asked.

"No," meowed Foxshadow with a sigh, flopping down into her nest. She wanted to complain about Bluestar's treatment to someone but Dustpelt would never believe that Bluestar could be that inconsiderate. "I think that DarkClan is planning to attack everyone at the Gathering tonight."

"Have you told Bluestar?" asked Dustpelt, looking worriedly into the camp.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "but she thinks StarClan will protect the Clan."

Dustpelt nodded. "I don't think even Brokenstar would break the truce," he meowed firmly. "Even he knows better than to make StarClan angry."

Foxshadow sighed and shook her head, suddenly tired. "A cat that kills kits will care nothing for even such a sacred truce."

Dustpelt opened his mouth but closed it a heartbeat later, realizing that arguing was pointless. "I should go hunting," he meowed.

"No," meowed Foxshadow, "you should go on the sunhigh border patrol. We have too much food on the freshkill pile and some of it is starting to rot." She made a mental note to fish out rotten food later. "Check and make sure the elders are wellfed before they go."

"I will," he promised. "You should get some rest."

The long trip back from WindClan territory plus the wounds she was still recovering from made Foxshadow too tired to argue. She curled up and laid her head down on her tail, as if it were a pillow. "I'll see you tonight," she murmured as Dustpelt rose to his paws and left the den.

* * *

 **A/N: And here we have the story shift from Fireheart's point of view back into Foxshadow's. Yay! Also, sorry for the delay in updating - I am still sick so don't expect another update tonight or something. :( I'll have two chapters posted next weekend, though, baring any unforeseen circumstances.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed the story! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	26. Fire and Ice pt 14 (WC & DC Allegiances)

**A/N: I apologize for the delay on this. I woke up this morning, looked at it, and told myself, It isn't long enough yet! Lo, I made it longer. (I also did want to mention that Foxshadow is RiverClan sized, aka a Maine Coon-sized cat hybrid.)  
**

 **sierra_stanley_52: I am not planning on going into New Prophecy right now, mostly because I'm thinking of Firestar's Quest and SkyClan's Destiny and Hawkwing's Journey and Vision of Shadows... but who knows? I might never even make it that far. Also, are you guest Sierra?**

 **cityskyliinee: I've always struggled to like Graystripe, too, but he's an okay character. Now, Sharpclaw, there's a get-away-with-murder and disrespectful character that I just hate to hate.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I have a counterpoint to your argument there. Taking elders to a gathering shows how good ThunderClan is at surviving. Allow me to explain. Elders are warriors who have survived hardships and many seasons to retire and have the Clan serve them, out of respect for the long seasons they spent serving the Clan. The more elders you have, the stronger you appear to other Clans because it is obvious that your warriors are smarter/faster/better at surviving than any other Clan's. It is a GOOD representation of ThunderClan and a reminder to all other Clans that ThunderClan has flourished where they had died. Also, taking queens, especially a moon pregnant queen to the Gathering, shows that ThunderClan is going to have new future warriors in the Clan. It tells the other Clans that "we are flourishing and have been for many seasons and we will continue to flourish with each new warrior our queens give birth to". It's pretty smart. BUT... Bluestar should have been more cautious this time round because of the threat of DarkClan.**

 **AnonChan1: (1) I don't think that's weird at all. (2) Yup, he's never getting over that. He loves the Clan and yet this stranger (who doesn't love ThunderClan as much as she loves ShadowClan, though he doesn't know that) was accepted before he was. (3) Aw. (4) BIG SHE-CATS FTW (5) Awwwwwwwwwwwww. (6) Because, as Graypaw once said, Bluestar is Bluestar.  
**

 **Sierra: Ooooooh, I like how you're asking questions and I love your predictions! YES, more Big She-Cats. Also, are you sierra_stanley_52?**

 **S1L3NT: Welp, this chapter is all about what happens at the Gathering. So, hope you enjoy? :)**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Ah, but Bluestar thinks she is the main character...**

* * *

 **WINDCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Tallstar - short-furred black-and-white tom with amber eyes

 **Deputy**  
Deadfoot - lean black tom with a broken left forepaw

 **Medicine Cat**  
Barkface - dark brown tom with yellow eyes and short tail

 **Warriors  
** Darkfoot - black tom with one white paw and green eyes  
\- Apprentice, Nightpaw  
Rushtail - cream tabby tom with amber eyes  
Mudclaw - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Webpaw  
Tornear - gray tabby tom with yellow eyes  
\- Apprentice, Tawnypaw  
Onewhisker - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Whitepaw

 **Apprentices**  
Whitepaw - small white she-cat with amber eyes  
Webpaw - wiry dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes  
Tawnypaw - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes  
Nightpaw - black she-cat with amber eyes

 **Queens**  
Ashfoot - gray she-cat with flat face and clear amber eyes  
Morningflower - brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

 **Kits**  
Ashfoot; Crowkit, Runningkit  
Morningflower; Gorsekit, Owlkit

 **Elders**  
Ryestalk - gray tabby she-cat with soft fur and amber eyes

...

 **DARKCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Brokenstar - scarred, patchy and ragged dark brown tabby tom.

 **Deputy**  
Blackfoot - black tom with large white paws.

 **Fighters**  
Iceclaw (OC) - giant white tom with pink-red eyes and with a black, spiked collar. Formerly known as Ice  
Nightwhisper - brown tom with green eyes, formerly known as Mowgli  
Jaggedtooth - huge ginger tabby tom with amber eyes, formerly known as Snag  
Smokefur (OC) - a gray tom with a rainbow, spiked collar. Formerly known as Smoke  
Freezepelt (OC) - light gray tabby tom with a white, spiked collar. Formerly known as Freeze

 **Hunters**  
Frogtail - dark grey tom with darker spots  
Tangleburr - gray-and-brown tortoiseshell she-cat  
Stumpytail - brown tabby tom  
Russetfur - dark ginger she-cat  
Rowanberry - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Queens**  
Sabletail - brownish-white she-cat with dark brown points and blue eyes, formerly known as Sasha  
Whiteflower (OC) - white and black she-cat with amber eyes, formally known as Lily  
Lightpelt - light gray she-cat with pink collar and blue eyes, formerly known as Smoke

 **Kits**  
Lightpelt: Darkkit, Blackkit, Whitekit, Graykit.

* * *

Foxshadow woke to the feel of cold night air all around her. She blinked open her eyes and took in the sight of an empty warrior's den and realized that the Gathering patrol was getting ready to go - if they hadn't left already. She quickly rose to her paws and padded out of the warriors den, taking in the sight of a camp lit by the full moon. Cats were already gathered around the side of the freshkill pile near the entrance.

"Foxshadow!" meowed Dustpelt, sounding relieved as he trotted over. "I thought you were going to sleep until dawn. I couldn't wake you up."

The massive she-cat breathed a sigh of relief. "Not if I could help it," she meowed with a purr. "Any news on what Bluestar plans to do about Graystripe joining RiverClan?"

The dark brown ticked tabby shook his head. "As far as I know, she isn't going to do anything." Dustpelt half-snarled. "It's obvious that Graystripe's a liability now. I wouldn't take him back if he came to us, begging."

Foxshadow frowned. On the one paw, she was glad that Graystripe had decided to stay in RiverClan, but on the other paw, she was not happy that Bluestar hadn't said anything about what they were going to do about it. She recalled Bluestar's reaction in the books when Fireheart told her that Ravenfeather was still alive and how she had simply dismissed it as Ravenfeather not belonging to the warrior life. Foxshadow's gaze shifted unconsciously to Ravenfeather, who sat with Mousefur and Patchpelt near the nursery along with all three of the youngest apprentices.

"What are you thinking about?" Dustpelt asked, following her gaze to Ravenfeather. "You know, I never thought Ravenfeather would make it to being a warrior."

"I never thought he'd survive this long," Foxshadow admitted. "Tigerclaw is out to kill him, you know."

Dustpelt rolled his eyes. "It might _seem_ that way, but Tigerclaw would never do such a thing."

"He has been distracted," Foxshadow admitted. "I'm surprised he isn't being more proactive." _Unless he expects Ravenfeather to die in the upcoming battle. Does the Darkforest keep him informed of what Brokenstar is doing?_

Dustpelt snorted. "Ravenfeather is just paranoid. He probably mistook some harsh training for Tigerclaw trying to kill him."

Foxshadow's tone became sharp. "Not unless Ravenfeather witnessed Tigerclaw murder Redtail."

Dustpelt's eyes widened in shock and then they narrowed into angry slits. "Tigerclaw would never do such a thing."

Foxshadow was uncomfortably reminded that she had done nothing to prove or disprove this since her apprenticeship. _And I said that I'd focus on it when I became a warrior_ , she thought with a wince. Graystripe's absences, Ravenfeather's journey, Brackenpaw's apprenticeship, Nightstar's ceremony, and Tigerclaw's story about Bluestar had completely thrown her off track. A part of her wondered if what Tigerclaw had done was actually the right thing, at least from his perspective. StarClan, she was sympathizing with a monster _and she was okay with it_!

 _But Tigerclaw hasn't shown any signs of plotting since he started attacking Ravenfeather and he's backed off that,_ she told herself. _Maybe he's changed his mind about all of this?_

Foxshadow looked at Dustpelt and decided to correct herself, and him. "Like Brokenstar would never kill kits or like Graystripe would never betray ThunderClan, Tigerclaw would never kill Redtail."

Dustpelt shook his head angrily, looking at the ground. "I've known him my whole life. You don't. You can't understand him like I do."

Feeling like she was treading back on old ground, she half-turned away. "Bluestar doesn't believe that DarkClan will attack the Gathering and neither do you. I hope you're both right. I want to believe it's my imagination running away from me. But just in case, you watch your back, okay? There is no telling what could happen during our most vulnerable time of the moon."

Dustpelt gave a low mew. "StarClan _will_ protect us." He didn't sound like he believed it though.

Foxshadow nodded and padded away, not wanting her mate to see the sadness or the disbelief in her eyes. She joined Ravenfeather and touched his shoulder with her tail.

"You, Fireheart and I need to get together sometime and talk about proving what happened during Redtail's death," she meowed lowly. "I need you to remind us of this later, okay?"

The black tom blinked in surprise and nodded, his eyes and shoulders relaxing a bit. "I thought you had forgotten."

Foxshadow shook her head. "No, I just got distracted by a lot of things." She lifted her head and realized that it was close to moonhigh. "I'm going to speak with the queens."

She hoped that Mistlekit might be a perfect apprentice for Fireheart. Foxshadow padded into the nursery and looked around, ignoring the faded smell of warmth and milk as she looked for Frostfur's kit.

"Mistlekit?"

A bundle of fur bolted out of the nursery and slammed into her chest, only half the size of a normal cat and a tiny kitten compared to Foxshadow. The big warrior barely flinched at the blow, but the move knocked Mistlekit flat on her back. The pale-gray tabby she-cat giggled. As a kitten around three and a half moons, Mistlekit had fully developed balance and motor skills. One eye was blue and the other was a dark green, and Foxshadow guessed that she might be blind in one eye.

"Hello, Mistlekit," meowed Foxshadow, wondering if the small kit could actually speak now. She probably learned how to about two moons prior.

"Hello, Foxface!"

"It's Foxshadow now," meowed the warrior with a purr.

"Oh, okay. Did they name you that because your heart is in ShadowClan?" meowed Mistlekit.

Foxshadow felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. "What?"

"You know ShadowClan?" meowed Mistlekit, confused. "Raggedstar said you have the heart of a ShadowClan cat."

 _"Raggedstar?"_ meowed Foxshadow, shocked.

"Yeah, he also said that you can't see him because he's in StarClan though he's standing right beside you." Mistlekit tilted her head in confusion. "Where is StarClan?"

Foxshadow couldn't bring herself to answer, all her hopes and dreams suddenly seemed to have been squashed firmly beneath a pile of dung. "You can see Raggedstar?"

"Uh-huh," meowed Mistlekit. "I can hear him, too. He told me that you're heart belongs to ShadowClan, that you're destined to help him kill the face of darkness, and that you have the blood of all the Clan running through you, though you're more SkyClan than anything." She paused. "What is SkyClan?"

Foxshadow weighed her options. Here was a cat who obviously had the powers of a medicine cat and yet Fireheart need an apprentice soon or else they'd have to wait seven more moons before Willowpelt's, Goldenflower's and Frostfur's kits were ready to become apprentices. That meant that she would have to wait eleven moons before Fireheart could be ready to take on the position of deputy.

 _Could Bluestar survive that long?_ she wondered but dismissed the thought as her attention returned to Mistlekit.

"Have you spoken with Yellowfang about this?" Foxshadow asked. "Has your mother?"

Mistlekit's muzzle wrinkled. "Frostfur doesn't really like Yellowfang..."

Foxshadow nodded. "I'll speak to Yellowfang, then."

She quickly left, hoping to catch Yellowfang before she left for the Gathering. Mistlekit was no Cinderpaw but she was obviously blessed by StarClan and that made her the only choice for medicine cat apprentice. She padded towards the medicine cat den but halted when the musky smell of herbs hit her nose. It wasn't nearly as strong as before and she guessed that she was finally getting used to the smell.

"Yellowfang?" she meowed, glancing around the camp just to make sure the medicine cat wasn't outside.

A muffled noise from the den told her where the dark gray she-cat was. A second later, Yellowfang padded out.

"Well, well, what do I owe the pleasure?" rasped Yellowfang, her eyes narrowed into slits. "Want me to ask one of the medicine cats about convincing hedgehog's to fly?"

Foxshadow blinked and purred. "Actually, I wanted to tell you that Mistlekit might be your next medicine cat apprentice."

"I wasn't aware that StarClan was giving you visions about these kinds of things," sniffed Yellowfang.

"More like they sent Mistlekit a special power," meowed Foxshadow, flicking her tail. "You should talk with her. She's going on and on about having spoken with Raggedstar."

Yellowfang blinked and rose to her paws. Without another word, she vanished into the nursery. Foxshadow watched as a suddenly panicked Frostfur darted into the nursery a heartbeat later, her white tail twitching as she tensed up and gave a low hiss. Hoping to rescue Yellowfang from the queen, Foxshadow padded up behind her.

"Frostfur, it's okay," she meowed reassuringly. "Yellowfang is just checking to see if StarClan wants Mistlekit to be her new apprentice."

The white she-cat turned around, her eyes round and tail twitching nervously. "But she isn't ready to leave the den."

"Of course not," Foxshadow soothed, "but some cats can are special and need to be taught how to deal with that specialness. I'm sure Mistlekit will remain with you a moon or two longer."

Frostfur searched Foxshadow's gaze and looked back into the den, seemingly unaffected by her words. But at least Frostfur wasn't hissing anymore.

"Cats of ThunderClan!" yowled Bluestar from the camp entrance. "It is time to leave."

The two groups of cats separated. Yellowfang pushed her away out of the den, giving Foxshadow a noncommittal look and headed towards the camp entrance. Foxshadow counted the amount of cats that had been left behind; Patchpelt the elder, Mousefur the senior warrior, Ravenfeather the young warrior, Frostfur the queen, Goldenflower the pregnant queen, and the apprentices, Cinderpaw, Brackenpaw and Thornpaw. The camp felt emptier than normal.

Foxshadow launched herself onto the Highrock and scanned the forest, making sure that the Gathering patrol really was gone.

"Foxshadow, what are you doing?"

She looked down at her fellow Clanmates who were watching her with curious frowns. Ravenfeather gave a nervous flick of his tail and she blinked at him. She hoped that they weren't as unreasonable as Bluestar and Dustpelt.

"I have reason to believe that DarkClan will attack all the Clans at the Gathering tonight," she meowed.

The other cats gasped in shock at the news.

"Are you sure about this?" meowed Mousefur, her short fur fluffed out in horror.

Foxshadow realized that if she was going to convince these cats, she could not tell them that this was all guess work. "Yes, I am sure of this. I heard them talking about this when I stumbled upon their camp. I am not sure if they plan to do it this fullmoon but we should be prepared regardless."

She studied their faces and was grateful that they did not question where the news came from. Most of the cats before her respected her and looked up to her, and they did not have the same disapproval of her that Bluestar had or the same unwavering faith in nobility that Dustpelt had. The ThunderClan cats shuddered in horror and disgust. The idea of anyone attacking the Clans at the Gathering was unthinkable as every honorable cat knew that it was when they are at their most vulnerable.

She looked over the cats, at the two pregnant queens, Goldenflower and Frostfur, and then at the three apprentices. "I have a plan, just in case they do attack. Our main concern needs to be the queens and elders that have gone to the Gathering. Cinderpaw, Brackenpaw and Thornpaw will be charged with finding them and bringing them back to camp as quickly as possible. Mousefur, Ravenfeather and I will be in charge of alerting the other Clans of the attack and gathering whatever warriors remain in their camps to protect those at the Gathering. Ravenfeather, you will be in charge of warning WindClan. Mousefur, you will be in charge of alerting ShadowClan. I will travel to RiverClan and warn them of the Gathering." She hesitated. "Patchpelt, Goldenflower and Frostfur, you will need to stay in the camp and to protect the elders if anyone decides to sneak attack us while our warriors are away."

"Are you _sure_ about this?" meowed Mousefur, obviously not liking the idea of elders and queens protecting the camp while all the warriors are away.

"I am very sure about this, Mousefur. Trust me," she meowed. "We must prepare for the worst."

"Did you tell Bluestar about this?" asked Patchpelt.

"I did, but she did not believe me," meowed Foxshadow. "She has great faith in StarClan and their signs and omens, but StarClan cannot control Brokenstar or DarkClan. They are not bound to the same warrior code as we are and they will not hesitate to break the truce."

"If Bluestar didn't believe you, then why should we?" meowed Patchpelt distrustfully.

Mousefur bristled. "We all know that Bluestar never liked Foxshadow very much, Patchpelt. I trust Foxshadow's judgement. She has saved our apprentices and she is a brilliant strategist."

"I believe her," meowed Ravenfeather firmly. "I just don't know if WindClan, ShadowClan or RiverClan will believe us."

Foxshadow shivered. _They must_ , she thought. _Oh, StarClan, send them a sign!_

"We should all eat something," Foxshadow concluded. "We will need our strength for the battle. Just don't eat too much - a full stomach will give you cramps if you try to run or fight with it."

Foxshadow leaped down from the Highrock and immediately grabbed a rabbit off the freshkill pile for her and the warriors to share. She gestured for Mousefur and Ravenfeather to follow her and they crouched down in the Highrock's shadow.

"Are you sure about this?" Mousefur asked for the third time. "You remember what happened last time you came up with a plan."

"It worked, didn't it?" Foxshadow meowed with a frown. "This time, we aren't pretending to be ShadowClan warriors and StarClan isn't going to try and use us as a sign that they reject Brokenstar." She paused, wondering once again if Brokenstar had nine lives or not. She shook her head and decided to deal with that later. "Besides, this is just a precaution."

Mousefur nodded and bent to eat her share of the rabbit. There were plenty of remains left when they had finished and Foxshadow was uncomfortable with burying the food. It was such a waste.

"I'm going to dig out the crowfood at the bottom of the freshkill pile," Foxshadow meowed. "You should get some rest."

Ravenfeather nodded and turned to go, while Mousefur hesitated, glancing at Patchpelt who stood guard at the entrance. Foxshadow meowed, "I'll stay up with him."

With a nod, Mousefur turned and padded into the warriors den.

Foxshadow felt suddenly tired as she padded to the edge of the freshkill pile and began to hook out the rotten crowfood. The pile had lessened since that morning and it looked like no one had added anything to the pile, which Foxshadow saw as a good sign. Less food was being wasted. She buried as a mulch-filled mouse and a maggot-ridden thrush, when suddenly Patchpelt gave an alarmed shout. Foxshadow looked up and realized that the forest was slowly being enveloped in a dark shadow. Her gaze shot upwards.

The moon was waning before her very eyes.

 _A lunar eclipse!_ she realized. _This never happened in the books._

Before she could properly think this through, she was on her paws, yowling, "ThunderClan, the Gathering is under attack!"

 _And if it isn't, it soon will be._

"Apprentices, to Fourtrees! Warriors, to the other Clans! Patchpelt, make sure they go!"

Without waiting for a response, Foxshadow leaped cleanly over the bramble barrier and shot up the ravine as if a pack of wolves were on her tail. She headed straight for the familiar stretch of bankmud that she always waited at for RiverClan's patrol to arrive. She didn't hesitate to leap straight out into the middle of the river, her limps spread to catch water and prevent her from being plunged under, and she belly flopped hard into the cold, rushing water. She kicked out strongly, bolting straight for the bend around which sat RiverClan's camp. She forced herself out of the water and bolted into RiverClan camp, startling the few warriors there. The entire world had been plunged into darkness.

"ThunderClan is attacking!" yowled a startled white tom.

"The Gathering is under attack!" Foxshadow countered. "DarkClan has broken the truce!"

Then the whole world turned red. The water of the river suddenly looked like blood, the trees took on a sinister edge, and the mud looked like black blood. The horror and shock that filled the camp overtook their surprise at Foxshadow's arrive.

Stonefur, turned red in the moonlight, yowled, "Blackclaw and Whiteclaw to me!"

"RiverClan apprentice!" Foxshadow yowled. "If you value the lives of your elders and queens, you will come and rescue them!"

Stonefur hesitated, surprised that the ThunderClan warrior was commanding RiverClan apprentices, but realized the wisdom of her words. "You heard her, apprentices!"

They was a mass exodus from RiverClan camp, and Foxshadow found herself lagging behind only slightly as they swam across towards Fourtrees. She didn't bother to shake out her fur as she stopped at the top of Fourtrees.

And there, she saw her worst fears realized.

The entire Gathering had erupted into chaos. It seemed all of WindClan had come, with over three times their normal number, and was forcing their way through the other Clans. Foxshadow was shocked to see it, having expected something quite different, before realizing a heartbeat later that WindClan wasn't anywhere at all. The aggressive Clan pushing into the ranks of other cats was none other than DarkClan, using WindClan's absence as an opportunity to cut through the other Clan's weakened defense. ShadowClan and RiverClan had been hit the worst, but ThunderClan had interwoven themselves among them and were fighting side-by-side the other warriors. Foxshadow could see Cinderpaw, Brackepaw and Thornpaw dragging a few elders and the two queens up the steep slopes of Fourtrees.

"RiverClan!" roared Stonefur, anger and fear making his loud and furious. "Attack!"

The three warriors plunged into the throng of RiverClan warriors. The two apprentices rushed to the elder's and queen's aid. Foxshadow heard a similar yowl from ShadowClan's border and saw Mousefur and smaller ShadowClan warriors rush into the fray.

 _Where's WindClan?_ Foxshadow wondered, before another thought crossed her mind. _Where's Brokenstar?_

Foxshadow felt sudden strength and power course through her and the faint scent of marsh, somehow separate from the scents below and yet subtle. Raggedstar was here.

 _Take me to him,_ she thought. _Let's finish this together._

She shuddered, a ripple of energy passing through her fur, and then standing in her place was the dead leader of ShadowClan. Raggedstar raced around and down the slopes of Fourtrees, the blood red gleam of the moon turning his dark amber eyes a brighter, reddish color. He was like a red-eyed demon leaping into the heart of DarkClan's ranks. Raggedstar knew exactly where he was going and exactly who he was looking for, and he did not stop for anyone. They found Brokenstar quickly.

Nightstar was lying in a pool of his own blood, still in death. Bluestar was struggling to breathe, trying to force herself back to her paws and rejoin the fight. Crookedstar was the only one left standing, though he was struggling, and he was face-to-face with the triumphant, blood-covered DarkClan leader.

"You can't stop me, Crookedstar," Brokenstar hissed, a mad gleam in his eyes and every tooth showing in a wide open smile. "I will bathe the forest in your blood!"

" _Brokentail!"_ Raggedstar snarled.

The dark brown leader of DarkClan whipped around like a frightened squirrel, eyes as round as the bloodmoon. "Raggedstar?" But then he relaxed, a wicked smile on his lips. "You caught me by surprise last time, but this time I have the backing of the Dark Forest."

"I have the backing of someone more powerful than the Dark Forest," meowed Raggedstar. "And she has given me permission to do this." The dead leader lunged and slammed into Brokenstar's side, bowling the tom over and exposing his belly. Raggedstar hesitated briefly, but Foxshadow did not and slashed her long claws across Brokenstar's underside. Brokenstar yowled in pain. Raggedstar hardened his resolve. "I won't let my mistake destroy this forest," he announced, before tensing and striking, this time putting all his strength and speed behind his blows.

Brokenstar was forced to twist out of the way and back off to avoid the blows, landing a few blows on his pelt but Raggedstar's pelt remained unmarked. They backed off one another. Brokenstar looked at his bloodied paws in confusion, before looking at Raggedstar's pelt.

"How is this possible?" he demanded. "I should be harming you."

"I'm protecting him," meowed Foxshadow, and for a heartbeat the dark brown and white she-cat was standing where Raggedstar had been. Blood smeared her pelt where Brokenstar's blows had struck.

Brokenstar sneered. "Who are you?"

"Your destroyer," meowed Foxshadow with a dark hiss, " _kit-killer!"_

Foxshadow lunged towards the tom and hooked his forepaws out from under him, but Brokenstar shifted his weight to his haunches and reared, bringing his claws down on Foxshadow. She bolted forward and slammed into his stomach, lifting him bodily off the ground. He yowled angrily as he landed, but Foxshadow twisted around quickly and landed on his shoulders. A heartbeat later, Raggedstar was in her place and he lunged for Brokenstar's throat, clamping his teeth down on fur and flesh. Brokenstar let out a yowl of pain and thrashed, but he grew weaker with every passing heartbeat. His blood pooled around him, black and putrid. Raggedstar curled his lips and let go in disgust.

"Raggedstar?" meowed a familiar voice and Raggedstar turned to look at Nightstar. The current leader of ShadowClan was stunned. "You're alive?"

"No," meowed Raggedstar, dipping his head towards the current ShadowClan leader before turning away. "I'm just here for him."

Then, Raggedstar picked up the temporarily dead DarkClan leader and bolted up the slopes of Fourtrees, dragging Brokenstar's body behind him. His long claws dug into the ground and his broad chest heaved with each breath as he struggled with the weight. He pulled them up over the edge just as Brokenstar twitched and sucked in a breath.

"What?" Then DarkClan's leader thrashed. "Release me!"

Raggedstar ignored him, clamping his teeth down hard on Brokenstar's throat as he continued to drag the dying leader of DarkClan. Brokenstar's thrashing grew weaker, and he stilled once more. Raggedstar picked up his pace. They heard the sounds of the gorge before they saw it and they burst out of the forest to find themselves at the edge of a long drop, a thrashing roaring river far below them. With Brokenstar struggling back to life once more, Raggedstar kept running, straight over the edge.

Foxshadow sucked in a gasp of air as she halted beside the edge of the gorge and watched with fascination as Raggedstar's spirit and Brokenstar's body both plummeted to the river far below. The bloodmoon had passed and the full pale glow of the moon was rapidly returning. She crouched beside the ledge, taking in the last scent of marsh which Raggedstar's ghost had left behind before backing away from the edge. The sound of a cat bursting out of the forest made her turn around and she watched as Nightstar halted, staring down at her.

"Where's Raggedstar?" he meowed, then corrected himself. "Where's Brokenstar?"

"They went over the edge," meowed Foxshadow, her heart still pounding. "Together."

Nightstar padded up to the edge and pointed his nose to the ground. The frail, thin leader of ShadowClan gave a noise of shock as he recognize the scent and then sank to the ground, eyes closed. Foxshadow backed away from him, unnerved by everything that had happened, and finally collapsed with a shocked gasp as her wounds and exhaustion finally caught up to her. She stretched out her limbs and forced her strained muscles to relax.

She felt rather than heard pawsteps approached as Crookedstar, Tallstar and Bluestar arrived on scene. They all paused at the sight of Foxshadow laying stretched out on the ground and Nightstar crouching beside the gorge. Bluestar was the first to pad over to Foxshadow, while Tallstar turned around and went back to Fourtrees, muttering something about a medicine cat. Crookedstar seemed frozen, glancing between Nightstar and Foxshadow, but remained silent.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Bluestar.

The massive she-cat blinked her sun-gold eyes tiredly at Bluestar. "Yes?"

"You were right," meowed Bluestar. "I should have listened."

Foxshadow tilted her head and nodded. "You are right not to listen to cats you don't trust, Bluestar, but I can't help but wonder why you don't trust me?"

Bluestar blinked. "I thought you were the face of darkness that would bathe the forest in blood." She dipped her head. "I see now that it was Brokenstar, leader and face of DarkClan, that was destined to bathe the forest in blood."

Foxshadow blinked at the familiar words, wondering if there was some prophecy that she hadn't been privy to. "Do you trust me now?"

Bluestar studied her thoughtfully. "Yes."

Foxshadow relaxed and nodded, but said nothing else. She knew it was really going to take Bluestar a long time to really trust what Foxshadow said and she wanted to have evidence ready when she finally told her that Tigerclaw hated her guts and wanted her dead. Better to let Bluestar get used to the idea of trusting her and hopefully, one day, Bluestar will trust her more than her current deputy and that will help her to reveal the truth.

More pawsteps announced Tallstar's return with Barkface, Deadfoot, Cinderfur, Leopardfur and Tigerclaw.

"Bluestar," meowed Tigerclaw, as Barkface padded up to Foxshadow to treat her wounds. "Are you alright?"

The blue-gray leader nodded. "How is the Clan?"

"Rosetail and Dappletail passed away," meowed Tigerclaw.

Bluestar nodded. "When Barkface is done, we can return to camp with Foxshadow."

"Bluestar," meowed Tigerclaw, "what are we going to do about DarkClan?"

Foxshadow lifted her head and winced when cobwebs tugged on her wounds. "DarkClan is still around?"

Bluestar was equally puzzled. "What do they want?"

"Blackfoot wants to make his case to the Clan leaders," meowed Tigerclaw, flicking his tail, "about staying at the Barn."

Foxshadow blinked tiredly, wondering if DarkClan would become a new addition to the forest. Her mind wandered to SkyClan and she knew that DarkClan cats would not be allowed to stay forever. StarClan would drive them out just like Raggedstar drove them out of ShadowClan.

Barkface spoked up, "Foxshadow will be fine for the trip to your camp."

Bluestar dipped her head to the WindClan medicine cat. "Thank you, Barkface," she meowed.

Foxshadow took that as her cue to stand up and wobbled slightly. She was glad that Bluestar and Tigerclaw took up position either side of her, though she honestly would have preferred to other cats to do it, and they padded back to Fourtrees.

When they reached the rim, Foxshadow noticed right away that there was a group of cats separate from the warriors of all the other Clans. A large black tom with big white paws was standing a tail length away from the group, his head and tail raised with authority. Foxshadow was pretty sure Blackfoot was supposed to be a white tom with black feet.

Bluestar meowed, "Wait here" before she descended the steep slope and joined her Clanmates below. A few heartbeats later, Foxshadow was relieved to see Dustpelt and Ravenfeather surge up the slope towards her. Beside her, Tigerclaw tensed as they approach. While Ravenfeather gave Tigerclaw a nervous ear-flick, Dustpelt tensed as he neared.

"We'll take her from here, Tigerclaw," meowed Dustpelt, an underlying not of hostility in his voice.

Tigerclaw's eyes widened in surprise and he dipped his head before descending the slope. Dustpelt instantly relaxed.

"Where were you?" asked Dustpelt. "You were supposed to stay in camp."

"I saw the sign in the sky and knew that the Gathering was under attack," meowed Foxshadow. "I brought reinforcements from RiverClan, while Ravenfeather here went to warn WindClan, and Mousefur went to warn ShadowClan."

"Well, we're taking you back to camp right away," he meowed, glancing at her wounds.

Foxshadow shook her head, wincing when the cobwebs tugged at her wounds. "I want to hear what Blackfoot has to say."

Ravenfeather meowed, "We can do that on the otherside of Fourtrees. We can walk around the rim."

"But that means passing through ShadowClan territory," Dustpelt meowed, his mew sharp with reprimand.

Foxshadow meowed, "I won't be able to go up and down these slopes in my condition, Dustpelt."

Dustpelt glanced at her and grew silent. Grateful, Foxshadow rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and then turned to walk around the rim. Foxshadow was relieved to smell the scents of the forest, but the marsh scent of ShadowClan had reminded her of Raggedstar. She wondered, briefly, if Raggedstar had disappeared forever, like the spirit cats who died at the Dark Forest. By the time they were back in ThunderClan territory, the other Clan leaders had arrived and were gathered on top of the Great Rock, the pale orange rays of the rising sun turning the sky purple.

"Cats of all Clans!" yowled Crookedstar. "Blackfoot has something to say."

The mostly black tom launched himself up to the Great Rock and turned to address the Forest Clans. "My Clan and I-"

A hiss rose from the ShadowClan cats, but Blackfoot gave them an ugly look and continued. "I and the cats of DarkClan wish to be recognized as our own Clan. We would like to remain in our territory north of WindClan's border and attend the Gatherings like a proper Clan."

This caused all the cats in the clearing to yowl and hiss, more notably WindClan and ShadowClan. RiverClan was strangely the quietest of them, with ThunderClan being split down the middle. Foxshadow thought she saw some ThunderClan cats glance back up at her, but she couldn't be sure.

"Are they serious?" asked Dustpelt with a sneer. "After following Brokenstar around, breaking the warrior code and nearly destroy WindClan, they really think we'd let them stick around and pretend to be a Clan?"

Foxshadow couldn't disagree with Dustpelt's statement, but she was thinking of SkyClan. Could DarkClan be important to them, somehow? Sure, they were going to have to go through some serious reform...

"Perhaps a trial run should be best?" she meowed to herself, knowing that the others might have problems with this. "In two seasons?"

Dustpelt snorted. "That Clan is never going to change. Two seasons isn't going to change anything."

"Regardless, they should be given ample opportunity to change and that isn't going to happen in a moon." Foxshadow glanced at Ravenfeather. "Ravenfeather, I don't think I can speak loud enough in my current state, so could you please send a message to Bluestar?" For a split second, Foxshadow had a sudden thought that Bluestar would not listen to her, but she reminded herself of Bluestar apology and decided to test how much Bluestar would be willing to believe her now. "Tell her this, 'DarkClan has been forced to form a Clan under a cat who is known to have broken the warrior code. Not every DarkClan member is going to want to stay or learn about the warrior code because of it. They should be given a time frame of two seasons to decide amongst themselves whether they will be willing to follow the warrior code properly. If they do not properly practice the warrior code by the end of those two seasons, they should not be welcomed among the other Clans and should be forced out'."

Ravenfeather nodded hesitantly looking nervously down at the sea of his fellow Clanmates, before sucking in a steadying breath. He surged down the slope and disappeared among the other cats. Foxshadow looked up at Bluestar, who seemed to have been attracted by the movement, and Foxshadow gestured beneath the Great Rock. The blue-gray ThunderClan leader hesitated before slipping off the Great Rock and waiting. Tigerclaw joined her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Ravenfeather arrived a second later and, after an alarmed glance at Tigerclaw, nervously repeated what Foxshadow had to say. Bluestar twitched her ears, nodded, said something that was probably a thanks mixed with praise, and bounded back up the Great Rock. Foxshadow ignored the glances in her direction and the murmurings of her fellow Clanmates.

The other Clan leaders had noticed Bluestar's absence and looked expectantly towards Bluestar for an explanation. After a murmured conversation, one which caused mrrows of laughter and sounds of amused resignation, Bluestar walked up to the tip of the Great Rock.

"Foxshadow is unable to say this loudly enough for us to hear, but she has informed me more of DarkClan situation." She repeated, almost word for word, what Foxshadow had told Ravenfeather, and Foxshadow was glad that Ravenfeather had a good memory. "It is in her opinion that we should give DarkClan two seasons to properly learn and follow the warrior code before deciding whether or not they should be welcomed as a fellow Clan."

Blackfoot glanced up at the slope, his gaze shifting between Ravenfeather and Dustpelt and Foxshadow, and Foxshadow guessed he must be trying to figure out which one is her. She dipped her head to him and his gaze focused on her, curiously.

"It is a generous offer," meowed Nightstar, but his gaze betrayed his dislike of it. "However, StarClan rejected these cats because of their disrespect of the warrior code and their blind obedience to a kit-killer."

"Is it not in the warrior code to obey your leader above all else?" meowed Blackfoot, defensively. "Are you suggesting that the warrior code is flawed?"

Foxshadow felt Dustpelt bristle beside her and meowed, "He has a point."

Dustpelt gave a noise of disbelief. "The Warrior Code has guided us and protected us since the founding of the Clans."

"Yes, but it was made and modified by cats who are flawed," meowed Foxshadow. "It is a reflection of our ideals, our faults, and our personal beliefs. As a result, even it can be flawed."

Dustpelt looked like he wanted to argue but seemed to have realized that arguing with Foxshadow would not get him anywhere. It did not mean she had won, only that it now had become that much harder to convince Dustpelt to think about it.

"Brokenstar broke the warrior code to his own purposes," meowed Nightstar. "How can we be sure that your DarkClan won't do the same?"

Blackfoot raised his head. "Because I will make sure they stay on the right path."

A murmur rippled through the Clans at this statement, but Foxshadow couldn't tell if cats were approving his words or unsure about them.

"Blackfoot never had a choice but to stick with Brokenstar when StarClan exiled him from ShadowClan," mused Foxshadow aloud. "This is the best chance he has at redemption in their eyes. I hope they are watching him."

"How is he going to get nine lives?" demanded Dustpelt. "StarClan isn't going to accept him."

"They will accept him when they are ready to accept him," meowed Foxshadow, pointedly.

Ravenfeather meowed. "I think they are getting ready to vote on it."

The Clan leaders were murmuring among themselves. The sun had already begun to climb the sky. Dawn patrols would have already been sent out by now and everyone at the camps would be worried. Foxshadow felt more tired then ever, but wanted to stay and see the end.

"It is decided," meowed Tallstar, "that DarkClan will remain in the territory north of WindClan and that we will reconvene on the matter after two seasons."

Blackfoot dipped his head. "Then it is settled. DarkClan will see you all at the next Gathering."

An unhappy murmur rose from the other Clans as the leaders looked at each other.

"We will see you then," meowed Bluestar, dipping her head to Blackfoot.

"Leaf-bare is going to be hard for them," meowed Ravenfeather, sympathetically.

"If they're staying, they better bury their dead before next moon," meowed Dustpelt angrily, glancing with disgust around Fourtrees.

Foxshadow shook her head at him absently. "It's a moon until leaf-fall. A lot can happen between now and the end of Leaf-bare."

Ravenfeather nodded.

"We should head back to camp," meowed Dustpelt. "Before something else happens you have to put your thoughts into."

Foxshadow purred at Dustpelt's annoyance. "You asked to become my mate, Dustpelt. This is something you're going to have to get used to."

Dustpelt huffed and pressed into her shoulder. "And I don't regret it," he meowed.

The sun was starting to rise when Foxshadow settled down in her old nest in the prisoner's den. She feel asleep instantly, with Dustpelt curling up beside her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you liked this 7k word chapter and don't forget to leave a review! This is the end of Fire and Ice! Next chapter will put us in FOS!**

 **Tomorrow, updated allegiances and chapter 1 of FOS.**


	27. Forest of Secrets pt 0 (Allegiances)

**A/N: There's a bit of a spoiler in the allegiances, if you guys are paying attention. ;) We're gonna get more information about what happened to Raggedstar next week, if I can finish both chapters. Also, I looked back over the last chapter I posted and I'm so upset there were so many grammatical errors that slipped through. I need to proof read gosh darn it but I'm too lazy and impatient.  
**

 **S1L3NT: I have to say that I really loved your review! You and I are definitely on the same page about Foxshadow. Sorry, Dustshadow fans. Just... sorry.**

 **sierra_stanley_52: I have six names picked out for their kittens, don't you worry about that. It'll happen. :)**

 **AnonChan1: I can't help but wonder if you even like Dustshadow. Is romance not your cup of tea? (1) Yeah, Mistlekit has been some trump card of mine since she survived Fire and Ice. She's... interesting, for sure. I based her powers on Goosefeather's, only she can close the one eye that sees dead cats and view things normally like a normal cat would. (2) Mousefur's "Are you sure?"s throughout that chapter were killing me. She's not one-hundred percent sold on what Foxshadow is saying but she's smart enough to know Foxshadow is smarter than her. She'd make a good deputy if Foxshadow wasn't so hell bent on being one herself... she's probably make a better deputy than Foxshadow, even. (3) Every time you put words in caps I can't help but crack up. I love that you are so invested into this. :3 (4) Ehh, Ravenfeather's been bouncing back and forth between crushing on Foxshadow and just wanting to be around her because he secretly wants her protection and knows that she's mothering him. At the very least, he's her friend.  
**

* * *

 **THUNDERCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes

 **Deputy  
** Tigerclaw - dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes and black stripes

 **Medicine Cat**  
Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes.

 **Warriors**  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes  
Brownfoot - silvered brown tabby tom with blue eyes, also known as Runningwind,  
\- Apprentice, Swiftpaw  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes, and green eyes  
\- Apprentice, Brightpaw  
Dustpelt - dusky dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Thornpaw  
Sandstorm - pale tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side and yellow eyes  
\- Apprentice, Cinderpaw  
Foxshadow - long-haired dark brown she-cat with white throat, underbelly, paws and chin, bright red underfur and sun-gold eyes  
\- Apprentice, Brackenpaw  
Ravenfeather - black tom with white chest spot, white tail-tip, white paws and amber eyes  
Fireheart - fiery red tabby tom with dark green eyes.

 **Apprentices**  
Swiftpaw - black and white tom with amber eyes  
Brightpaw - mostly white she-cat with ginger patches and one black spot on her forehead  
Cinderpaw - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
Thornpaw - gray tabby tom  
Brackenpaw - pale brown tabby tom

 **Queens**  
Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat with pale blue eyes  
Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat with green eyes

 **Kits  
** Brindleface: Mistlekit (white she-cat). Four-and-half moons old. Icekit (pale gray she-cat), Snowkit (white tom), Frostkit (white she-cat), Darkkit (dark grey tabby tom with black stripes and yellow eyes). 0 moons old  
Goldenflower: Bramblekit (golden brown tabby tom with darker brown stripes and long claws), Tawnykit (brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat), Beekit (golden tabby tom), Eaglekit (golden brown tabby tom). Halfmoon old.  
Willowpelt: Fernkit (dark gray spotted tabby she-cat with green eyes), Ashkit (light gray spotted tabby tom with blue eyes), Rainkit (dark gray brindled tabby tom with blue eyes), Sootkit (light gray tom with darker spots and yellow eyes). Halfmoon old.

 **Elders**  
Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes

 **...**

 **SHADOWCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Nightstar - frail, thin short-furred black tom.

 **Deputy**  
Cinderfur - thin gray tom with spotted tabby markings

 **Medicine Cat**  
Birdnose - small gray-and-white tom, also known as Runningnose  
\- Apprentice, Littlecloud

 **Warriors**  
Ratscar - scarred young dark brown tom  
Snowbird - young white she-cat  
Whitethroat - mostly black tom with white paws, underbelly, tail-tip and throat  
Wetfoot - spotted gray tabby tom  
Applefur - light brown she-cat with spotted tabby markings

 **Apprentice**  
Littlecloud - thin brown tabby tom

 **Queens**  
Darkflower - black she-cat  
Tallpoppy - (pregnant) long-legged black tabby she-cat

 **Elders**  
Nutwhisker - brown tom with orange eyes.  
Dawncloud - small pale ginger tabby she-cat  
Newtspeck - brown-and-red tabby tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes  
Fernshade - dark gray-and-ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

*Brownpaw, Nettlespot, Flintfang and Wolfstep died during the battle.

...

 **RIVERCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Crookedstar - dark gray tabby tom with a crooked jaw

 **Deputy**  
Leopardfur - light golden-brown spotted tabby she-cat and dark amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Reedpaw

 **Medicine Cat**  
Mudfur - old long-haired light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Warriors**  
Blackclaw - smokey black tom with green eyes  
Mallowtail - red-and-black tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
Stonefur - blue-gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes  
Mistyfoot - blue-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes  
Bearpelt - dark brown tom with amber eyes, aka Loudbelly  
\- Apprentice, Primrosepaw  
Whiteclaw - black tom with white legs and underbelly  
\- Apprentice, Perchpaw  
Heavystep - light brown tabby tom with green eyes  
\- Apprentice, Pikepaw  
Graystripe - silvered long-haired black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back, mistakenly called gray tom  
Silverstream - slender silvered black she-cat with blue eyes  
Mosspelt - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat with white chest

 **Apprentices**  
Reedpaw - black tom with small ears and blue eyes  
Primrosepaw - blue-gray she-cat with black spots and yellow eyes  
Pikepaw - dark gray tom with black spots and blue eyes  
Perchpaw - black tom with green eyes

 **Queens**  
Dawnbright - (pregnant) dark ginger-and-gray tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
Shadepelt - smokey black she-cat

 **Elders**  
Skyheart - old brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes.  
Graypool - dark gray she-cat with pale blue eyes

...

 **WINDCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Tallstar - short-furred black-and-white tom with amber eyes

 **Deputy**  
Deadfoot - lean black tom with broken forepaw

 **Medicine Cat**  
Barkface - darn brown tom with yellow eyes and short tail

 **Warriors  
** Mudclaw - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Tornear - gray tabby tom with yellow eyes  
\- Apprentice, Owlpaw  
Morningflower - brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
Onewhisker - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Gorsepaw  
Whitetail - small white she-cat with amber eyes  
Webfoot - wiry dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes  
Tawnyfur - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes  
Nightwing - black she-cat with amber eyes

 **Apprentices**  
Gorsepaw - ginger-and-white tabby tom  
Owlpaw - cream tabby tom

 **Queens  
** Ashfoot - gray she-cat with flat face and clear amber eyes

 **Elders  
** Darkfoot - black tom with one white paw and green eyes  
Rushtail - cream tabby tom with amber eyes

...

 **DARKCLAN**

 **Leader**  
Blackfoot - black tom with large white paws, formerly of ShadowClan

 **Deputy**  
Russetfur - dark ginger she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan  
\- Apprentice, Whitepaw

 **Warriors  
** Deerfoot - dark brown tabby tom with black spots and white throat and paws, formerly of ShadowClan  
Nightwhisper - brown tom with green eyes, formerly known as Mowgli  
\- Apprentice, Darkpaw  
Jaggedtooth - huge ginger tabby tom with amber eyes, formerly known as Snag  
\- Apprentice, Graypaw  
Rowanberry - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan  
\- Apprentice, Blackpaw

 **Apprentices** (3 Moons old) **  
**Darkpaw - mostly white tom with black tail and spots around his dark amber eyes  
Blackpaw - black-and-white tom with yellow eyes  
Whitepaw - white she-cat with amber eyes  
Graypaw - light gray and white she-cat with amber eyes

 **Queens**  
Sabletail - tawny she-cat with darker points and blue eyes, formerly known as Sasha. Mate Nightwhisper.  
Whiteflower - white and black she-cat with amber eyes, formally known as Lily. Mate Jaggedtooth.

 **Kits**  
Sabletail: Elmkit (dark brown tabby she-cat), Oakkit (dark brown tabby tom), Pinekit (reddish-brown tabby tom), Maplekit (reddish-brown she-cat). One moon old.  
Whiteflower: Rosekit (black-and-ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with white), Dandelionkit (grey-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat), Orchidkit (gray tabby tom), Lilykit (mostly white she-cat with red and black spots). Half-moon old.

 **Elders**  
Stumpytail - brown tabby tom, formerly of ShadowClan  
Barley - short black-and-white tom.

* * *

Shafts of light from the waning moon lit a large patch of bank mud, where a dark brown tabby was waiting, curled up on top of the flat rock. The silver moonlight created leopard spot patterns on the surface of the water. The usually dull roar of the river sounded sharper and crisper in the cold of leaf-fall. A golden-brown spotted tabby cut a dark shape in the water as she approached the ThunderClan border and stood up in the shallows.

"Tigerclaw," meowed the she-cat, half-dipping her head to the dark brown tabby. "Did you come alone?"

The dark warrior barely moved, his dark amber eyes gleaming. "Yes."

The spotted tabby lifted her nose and tested the air, looking uncertain, but when she smelled nothing she relaxed fractionally.

Tigerclaw twitched his ears and meowed calmly. "What did you want to speak to me about, Leopardfur?"

The RiverClan deputy hesitated, studying Tigerclaw carefully before sitting down in the water. "I want to know about Graystripe. I want to know why ThunderClan so easily gave him up." She sneered. "And don't tell me it's because he decided to join RiverClan, I _know_ there has to be another reason. What did he do? Why does you Clan hate him so much?"

Tigerclaw's eyes sparkled with sudden realization, before he quickly narrowed them, as if studying her carefully. "Would you even be willing to listen to me?"

Leopardfur caught her breath. "Listen to you about _what_?"

"I am not supposed to tell anyone this, Leopardfur." He gave his voice a low, almost vulnerable edge. "But... how much do you love RiverClan?"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Leopardfur hissed, tail lashing in the water.

Tigerclaw tilted his head and raised a paw halfway, adopting an exposed, open posture. "Humor me."

Leopardfur bristled and dipped her head. "I want to protect my Clanmates from any possible threat." She looked hard into his dark eyes. "Wouldn't you do the same?"

Tigerclaw gave a tiny flinch and dipped his head. His voice darkened into a serious, almost angry tone. "I would protect my Clan no matter what." His eyes watched Leopardfur carefully for a reaction.

Leopardfur looked relieved and she nodded respectfully towards her fellow deputy. "Tell me what you know."

"You have to promise," meowed Tigerclaw, the edge of vulnerability back and the faintest trace of smugness in his voice, "not to tell anyone about this. We never found any evidence of this, but I am sure you will grow to understand why we have begun to... mistrust him."

Leopardfur nodded again, her expression turning serious.

"Graystripe... was working for Brokenstar," he meowed, almost sounding pained, as if Leopardfur was dragging this information out of him with her unsheathed claws. "While he was an apprentice, Graystripe would constantly do things that were... against the warrior code. He would lead patrols composed of kits to the edge of our territory. He would steal prey caught by other apprentices and pretend he had done it. He would ignore our borders and walk across them without any second thought." Tigerclaw closed his eyes and sucked in a breathe. "Bluestar and I heard these and many more unfounded rumors as he was being trained under Lionheart, before Lionheart passed away during the ShadowClan invasion. There was even another, more terrible rumor, that Graystripe had killed Lionheart during the battle, but we found no evidence for it. But, when we found out that DarkClan was on WindClan territory, Graystripe led our apprentices into WindClan territory to hunt. One of our patrols was forced to come to their rescue and we lost Whitestorm." He dipped his head, his face half-twisted in grief, but then he slowly raised his head proudly and angrily. "Graystripe killed Whitestorm's murderer during the fight. Bluestar decided to make him a warrior but we had concerns that he may not have done it to avenge Whitestorm's death... but to cover up murdering him." Tigerclaw sighed. "We do not know any of this for certain. He is sneaky and devious, Leopardfur, and you should watch him carefully."

Leopardfur seemed to reel with the news. "Graystripe... murdered Whitestorm?"

"Yes," meowed Tigerclaw, his long claws flashing in the moonlight as he dug them into the rock. "He hid his cleverness and murderous mind underneath a mask of friendliness and shrugs. Even now, we are uncertain whether or not he really is as evil as rumors make him appear as."

Leopardfur was silent as she absorbed Tigerclaw's words. It was obvious to him that she had never imagined Graystripe was capable of this, but that surprise quickly turned into recognition, as she seemed to grab hold of memory after memory and piece together the story. "I knew he had to have some other reason for trying to get close to Crookedstar's daughter." She spat. " _Love_."

Tigerclaw could feel his chest fur rising proudly but he turned away to hid his smug smirk. "I have to return to camp. My Clan will expect to see me in the morning. Goodnight, Leopardfur."

The golden-brown she-cat barely seemed to notice when the dark warrior left as she turned and disappeared back into the river.

* * *

The camp was pale gray under the waning leaf-fall moon, the cold air amplifying the noise of rustling branches high overhead. Foxshadow had to appreciate how owls could be silent in the night when it sounded like her own pawsteps sounded louder and crisper than normal.

Foxshadow padded quietly into the prisoner's den and looked around, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the darker shadows. "Fireheart, Ravenfeather," she meowed in greeting towards the two toms. "We are here to talk about Tigerclaw."

Ravenfeather and Fireheart shared a glance before the fiery red tom spoke.

"Foxshadow, _how_ are we going to protect Ravenfeather?" asked Fireheart.

"He might not even be after me anymore," meowed Ravenfeather. "So, maybe this just doesn't matter?"

Foxshadow blinked at them, looking at Ravenfeather especially. "It's strange that you would say that since you're the one who saw him kill Redtail. Are you saying that he actually didn't kill Redtail?"

Ravenfeather shook his head. "No way. Tigerclaw definitely did it."

Foxshadow flicked her hear. "And you both know for certain that he knows Ravenfeather knows, right?"

Fireheart shifted. "I saw him overhear Ravenfeather at the Gathering. You know, the one where Brokenstar announced that there was a loner around killing kittens."

Foxshadow nodded. "Good. We cannot forget why we have to do this. If we do, we will relax and that is when Tigerclaw will strike. He's patient, remember, and he's doing everything in his power to weaken our defenses." She looked at them both. "There might be a way we could do this if we worked together."

Ravenfeather shot Fireheart an excited look. "You have an idea of how to protect me from him?"

"I have given it thought, yes," meowed Foxshadow, suddenly reminded of how much Ravenfeather wasn't going to like her plan. "Do you remember a conversation we had when we were apprentices? We were here in the prisoner's den and I went to check and see if we could make a secret den for Ravenfeather." She looked at the black tom. "You said that you were okay with sharing your secret den with kittens."

"I was," meowed Ravenfeather. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I was thinking you and Fireheart could try building that den while I keep Tigerclaw distracted."

"Distracted?" echoed Ravenfeather.

Fireheart tilted his head. "Why would Tigerclaw be distracted by you?"

"You mean," meowed Foxshadow, with a gesture towards her stomach, "besides the obvious?" The two toms stared at her blankly and she rolled her eyes. "Because I think he's been trying to convince me to join his side."

Ravenfeather looked alarmed. "You're planning to join his side?"

"No," Foxshadow meowed, feel a small amount of irritation with Ravenfeather. "I am planning to pretend to be joining his side."

"That's a terrible idea!" meowed the black tom, but a fluffy tail tip in his mouth quickly quieted him. They waited tensely for a few seconds to pass, but no one else in camp stirred. Foxshadow glanced at Fireheart, silently asking for help but the red tabby was equally shocked and disapproving. The fox-colored she-cat sighed. "Hear me out. Tigerclaw has been trying to get on my good side since you left. He's interested in me and, though I don't know why, it makes sense that I should be able to distract him while you both work on Ravenfeather's hiding place."

"He knows you can't die," Fireheart meowed immediately, casting a swift glance at Ravenfeather. "He _thinks_ you can't die."

Foxshadow blinked, oblivious to Fireheart's attempt to cover his blunder and her secret. "He knows...?" _How did he know?_ The only cats who knew she couldn't die was Raggedstar and perhaps other dead cats as well, and the only dead cats Tigerclaw could have come in contact with were the Dark Forest cats. A shiver went down her spine. She didn't want to know what plan they had for her.

"I don't know how Tigerclaw knew," meowed Fireheart, "he just does."

"And you? How did you figure it out?"

"Well," meowed Fireheart. "You stopped breathing when I left and when I came back you were missing."

"I never died, Fireheart," meowed Foxshadow, "I stopped breathing to give my throat injury time to heal."

Fireheart flicked his ears in confusion. "You never died?"

"Yes, but you and Tigerclaw are both still right." Foxshadow dipped her head. "I _cannot_ die."

Fireheart and Ravenfeather shared a silent glance.

"But now it just makes even more sense that I distract Tigerclaw," meowed Foxshadow. "He wants me on his side because he wants someone who can't die" She sat up suddenly in shock. "and who won't go to StarClan for dreams of becoming a leader."

 _It makes sense_ , she thought. _Who better to defend Tigerclaw's position of leadership after he became leader? Why, someone who can't die and who won't go to StarClan for nine lives._

"What?" asked Fireheart.

Foxshadow glanced at Ravenfeather and realized he was equally lost. She sighed. "There's a condition. I can only die if I have dreams of StarClan or the Dark Forest. A leadership ceremony is one of those times when you _have to_ visit their hunting grounds to receive your nine lives. The moment I would show up, it would kill me. Every life they would give me would be wasted because I would not be able to return." She lifted her head towards the stars. "Right now, I cannot dream of StarClan, not even by accident, because StarClan is preventing it."

The silence that greeted this statement made Foxshadow suddenly nervous. She shifted on her paws and glanced between the two stunned warriors before looking down at her paws. "It makes sense."

"It does," meowed Fireheart. "It makes too much sense."

"That is messed up," meowed Ravenfeather. "I can't believe Tigerclaw would use someone like that."

Foxshadow lifted her head in surprise. "This is Tigerclaw we are talking about. We can safely saw we don't know what he will or won't do."

Ravenfeather flinched at the reminder and glanced nervously around.

"I need you guys to promise me something," meowed Foxshadow. "You can't tell anyone else about this."

Fireheart dipped his head while Ravenfeather nodded so rapidly he looked like an out of control bobble head. Foxshadow purred and relaxed, relieved, before she remembered why else they were here.

"There is something else we need to think about," meowed Foxshadow. "It concerns Tigerclaw. He once told me something he believed happened a long time ago, when he was just an apprentice. During that time, there was a cat in the Clan who could have become the next deputy of ThunderClan, but he was a bloodthirsty tom named Thistleclaw. Bluestar was also a candidate for that position, up until the day she had her kits." Foxshadow made a mental note to schedule kittings around greenleaf if she ever became leader, to prevent kittens from being born in leaf-bare. "During the leaf-bare, Bluestar's kits disappeared. She claimed they were attacked by a fox, but there was no such scent in the forest despite the damage to the nursery. Tigerclaw and his mentor, Thistleclaw, tracked the trail to the edge of the river, where it was cut off. Tigerclaw believes that Bluestar threw them into the river in order to become deputy." Foxshadow lifted her head. "Tigerclaw believes that Bluestar is a kit-killer."

Ravenfeather meowed, "I didn't even know she had kits."

"Do you believe this?" asked Fireheart.

Foxshadow shook her head. "No, of course not. I've seen Bluestar's kits in RiverClan and they are very much still alive. I'd recognize her blue-gray fur on any cat, no matter their stripes."

"Stonefur and Mistyfoot," Ravenfeather meowed, eyes wide. "Unbelievable."

"Not so," meowed Foxshadow. "A queen so deluded into thinking she was the only good candidate for deputyship despite her being right in that Thistleclaw was bloodthirsty would do anything to become a deputy, even get rid of her kits." She hesitated, her mood darkening. "I have seen rogues kill their own kits for stupider reasons."

The two toms gaped at Foxshadow. It was Fireheart who found his voice first.

"Foxshadow, are you sure you don't believe Tigerclaw's story?"

Foxshadow blinked in surprise. "Of course not."

"Then, why do you think Bluestar got rid of her kits to become the deputy?"

"Because she did," Foxshadow meowed. "You can ask her personally. She'll admit it to you." Foxshadow narrowed her eyes throughtfully at her own words. Would Bluestar admit it to Foxshadow? The massive she-cat mentally pushed the thought away. It was stupid to waste whatever trust Bluestar had in her on some stupid question she already knew the answer to. Better to test it on something more important, like Tigerclaw's treachery.

 _Or,_ she thought, _build upon that trust by making Bluestar think she can trust me with her secrets._

Fireheart stared at her. "Foxshadow, what if you start believing Tigerclaw didn't kill Redtail?"

"He did!" yelped Ravenfeather, looking scared.

"Shh," meowed Foxshadow sharply, before looking at Fireheart. "You won't _ever_ have to worry about that, Fireheart."

Fireheart did not look so sure, but he nodded. Foxshadow was glad they were building up some trust, even if they might disagree on things.

"I could also look into Tigerclaw's story," meowed Fireheart. "Bluestar will want more evidence than just Ravenfeather."

Foxshadow frowned. "If it was any other day, I would say go for it, but after Graystripe joined RiverClan... it might make Graystripe seem like a spy if you kept asking him for information. It might cause future problems, like a war."

"What?" Fireheart stared at Foxshadow in surprise. "But... we need to prove that Tigerclaw is guilty."

"I know, I know," meowed Foxshadow, "but you need to think of the repercussions. It's better to investigate into that at the Gathering and spend the rest of the time on building a new den for Ravenfeather."

Fireheart shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure we investigate into this sooner?"

Foxshadow shook her head. "We need to wait for a time when we know RiverClan and ThunderClan are going to get along."

Fireheart reluctantly nodded, but Foxshadow doubted she'd be able to stop him if he did decide that it was peaceful enough to go speak to RiverClan cats on the border when it was just the calm before the storm. Foxshadow knew that there was going to be a fight over Sunningrocks soon, it was just inevitable considering the rivalry between RiverClan and ThunderClan and Fireheart might not think of that in his pursuit of justice.

Foxshadow had the strangest feeling that she was about to be mixed up in a war.

* * *

 **A/N: Hulllllooo! This is the first time I've taken great care in the dialogue to keep it going according to my outline so I hope you guys like it and, if you don't, let me know! (Also, yay for me having time and patience to proof-read it this time!)  
**

 **Anyway, don't forget to leave a review! See you next weekend.**


	28. Forest of Secrets pt 1

**A/N: Today is a special day in astronomy! The constellation Virgo is giving birth to Jupiter and everyone is talking about how it ties into the Rev 12 Sign. If you guys are interested in that, I would totally suggest looking it up! Also, thank you all for your reviews!**

 **2lazy2login: Bum, bum, bummmmm!**

 **AnonChan1: (A) Tigerclaw is stirring up all kinds of trouble. (B) She is not thinking of using that! That was just a joke. A bad joke. (C) Yup. Thanks to Foxshadow's knowledge of things.**

 **Amberpetal: Thank you!**

 **S1L3NT: Tigerclaw is totally stirring up some evil plots! Also, Foxshadow will be leaving in A Dangerous Path.**

 **Eeveelution8162: Thank you so much!**

 **VinejayVinewings: That's okay! Glad you could review this time! Also, Foxshadow was at the battle that Tigerclaw's talking about while Tigerclaw himself wasn't. He's saying all that stuff in the last chapter purely to make Leopardfur believe Graystripe's a threat to RiverClan.**

 **lemon: True form? Oh, this is not one of those fanfictions, lol. Foxshadow is just a cat in this and her human body is another reality.**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Thank you so much for your review! I hope I live up to your expectations! I'm still an amateur so there's plenty of room to improve my story telling ability. ;)**

* * *

The cold biting wind ruffled Foxshadow's fur as she followed the patrol to the first Gathering of leaf-fall. Foxshadow thought back to the last Gathering, when DarkClan was allowed to live in territory north of WindClan. It's been a moon now and Foxshadow would be lying if she wasn't afraid of what might have happened during that time, especially since WindClan has every reason to hate the cats who had willingly driven them out moons before.

"These are going to be difficult to hunt in," Dustpelt mused aloud, his face wrinkling in disgust as they padded through a pile of leaves.

Foxshadow glanced absently at the orange, red and yellow leaves around them. She had never been good at being stealthy unless she was in a tree, so she didn't really think it was that much of a loss. "Look on the bright side. At least it isn't as bad as leaf-bare will be." Foxshadow couldn't imagine how she was going to survive in the cold without a fireplace and thanked StarClan that she wasn't as furless as Rock.

Dustpelt hummed moodily to himself. "I hope RiverClan is going to explain themselves."

Foxshadow frowned. It had been half a moon since a ThunderClan patrol had scented RiverClan crossing the border, but there hadn't been any news after that. Foxshadow had asked Fireheart if he was involved, but the fiery red tom had been too busy building the den behind the dirtplace to speak or meet with any RiverClan cats.

"I didn't have time to set up a meeting with any of the RiverClan cats anyway," Fireheart had meowed while in Ravenfeather's then shallow secret den. "DarkClan has been distracting everyone."

 _Everyone but Dustpelt_ , Foxshadow mused. "Why do you hate them so much, Dustpelt? Even when Brokenstar was around, you were convinced that _RiverClan_ was going to be the ones to start a fight on our border."

Dustpelt frowned, flattening his ears at the reminder. "RiverClan and ThunderClan have history," he began, pausing to search for words. "It's difficult to explain."

Foxshadow was glad that he hadn't said anything along the lines of "You wouldn't understand because you're a rogue" because that would not have made Dustpelt very happy in future the lonely, cold nights. Foxshadow was not going to sleep next to a tom who thought she couldn't understand something because she was an ex-rogue, especially when that wasn't true.

"Yes, you fight over Sunningrocks a lot," Foxshadow meowed instead, "but I don't understand why you feel like you need to."

"The elders can explain it better," Dustpelt meowed, tight-lipped.

"Beyond the simple fact that the river changed course and now because the Sunningrocks are surrounded by land that they belong to ThunderClan?" Foxshadow had never really investigated that deeply into geography, so she had no idea how something like that could affect the environment. She always thought that part of the land would be permanently wet, as if remembering the river that had once flowed over it, and Sunningrocks had packed earth all around it. Her mind jumped to another conclusion. The Treecutplace used to belong to SkyClan but now that ThunderClan owned the land, it seemed greedy that ThunderClan would also want a piece of territory that used to belong to RiverClan and that they had already proven that they didn't need. "It seems like a waste of resources and time to try and fight over a piece of land that is only good for sunbathing."

Dustpelt bristled. "It's a matter of ThunderClan's honor that we get that land back. Many cats have died over it."

 _They died for stupid reasons then,_ Foxshadow thought but wisely kept her mouth shut and decided to change the topic. "Do you think DarkClan and WindClan are at war?"

"Probably," Dustpelt meowed.

Foxshadow thought of ShadowClan. "I'm sure ShadowClan will be glad that no one is focusing on them. They could use this time to heal."

Dustpelt snorted. "Since when has ShadowClan done something smart?"

Foxshadow purred in amusement. "Give them a break. It was mostly Brokenstar who was stupid."

Dustpelt hummed in agreement.

After thinking of Brokenstar, her thoughts turned back to DarkClan. Were they following the warrior code now? Would they be able to get their act together before leaf-bare was over with and become a real Clan? Foxshadow doubted that it could be possible. She felt that DarkClan was somehow tied in with SkyClan, especially since this was the first time in a long time any cat had even heard of there being a fifth Clan in the forest. Surely that meant something? But StarClan was not enlightening her today about anything and Foxshadow was left to ponder.

The gathering patrol halted at the top of Fourtrees' rim. Foxshadow and Dustpelt moved around the main bulk of the Clan to line up at the rim and to look for Bluestar's signal that they should dive into the clearing below. Foxshadow could see WindClan, ShadowClan and DarkClan cats below, while RiverClan was running late. Foxshadow turned her gaze to Bluestar just in time to see her tail raise and give the signal. The entire patrol cats thundered into the bowl. Foxshadow was side-by-side with her mate, watching the other cats mix with the other Clans. It took only a moment for Foxshadow to see over their heads and realize that Sabletail was not present among the DarkClan cats. Disappointed, she padded towards the RiverClan side of the gathering and found a small clearing that she and Dustpelt could share.

"Did you see where Fireheart went?" Foxshadow asked. Ravenfeather had been left behind in camp along with Longtail and Mousefur. With Tigerclaw being deputy and therefore forced to come to the Gathering every single time, it seemed like a good idea that Ravenfeather focus on trying to catch up on some sleep. On the other paw, Ravenfeather wouldn't be around if Fireheart went too far with his information gathering.

Dustpelt shrugged. "Haven't seen him all day."

She frowned. He sounded dismissive of the ex-kittypet, but Foxshadow was starting to understand when Dustpelt was jealous of her attention towards other toms - or them in her. "There is nothing between me and Fireheart, Dustpelt. Don't you worry about that."

The dusky brown tabby started and gave an amused snort. "You're getting good at noticing things, Foxscar."

"Jealousy is easier to pick up on than most others," Foxshadow meowed, " because I'm more familiar with it."

"You're jealous of some cat?" he asked.

"Was. You know how Bluestar had her eyes on Firepaw from the beginning? I was always jealous of that."

"But now you and Fireheart are friends."

"Eh, not really. We just have a common goal, is all."

Foxshadow shifted on the grass, which itched at her belly, before finding a cool patch of earth to lie in. It wasn't as muddy as she'd prefer but it still felt good.

"Cats of all Clans," yowled Nightstar. "The Gathering has begun. ShadowClan will speak first."

Fourtrees slowly became quiet while Nightstar waited patiently.

"Prey runs freely and well in he marshes. Darkflower has given birth to four healthy kits, and our apprentices have all become warriors; Wetfoot, Applefur and Whitethroat. Dawncloud, Newtspeck and Fernshade have retired to the elder's den."

Foxshadow was surprised Newspeck would retire. She remembered the she-cat from when she had helped Foxshadow calm down a distraught RiverClan apprentice and she had looked only as old as Lionheart had. She must have been wounded during the battle with DarkClan. Foxshadow looked uncomfortably at the three DarkClan warriors present. The ShadowClan and DarkClan groups were so small compared to all the others, and Foxshadow felt almost uncomfortable whenever she looked at them. If DarkClan and ShadowClan merged, they'd be as big one of the other Clans, but instead they were slightly smaller than WindClan, one of the smallest Clans at the Gathering.

 _Maybe they weren't valuable to SkyClan_ , she thought to herself. Because DarkClan was now an unofficial fifth Clan, Foxshadow couldn't help but think they were tied in to SkyClan, but now she thought maybe not.

The dark gray tabby tom leader of RiverClan stepped up and yowled. "The river flows strong with prey. The Sunningrocks has provided us good prey in the last moon."

A low angry hiss filled Fourtrees as all of the ThunderClan cats reacted to the reminder that they did not have Sunningrocks. Foxshadow couldn't help her own hiss of displeasure, unhappy that Crookedstar would probe ThunderClan like this when it was clear none of the Clans were ready for another war.

"They don't even hunt our prey," Dustpelt growled.

"We have four new apprentices," Crookedstar continued. "Shadepelt and Dawnbright have moved into the nursery, and Skyheart has retired to the elder's den." He dipped his head and stepped back.

Foxshadow winced. Skyheart must have been injured in the fight to have to retire. She had looked like she could have been a warrior for another eight seasons and hearing that she retired made Foxshadow feel uncomfortable. She could not imagine having to retire at such a young age. She wanted to live for another twenty years.

The black and white WindClan leader stepped up and meowed. "WindClan is stronger now that we have settled back into our territory. We have four new warriors; Whitetail, Webfoot, Nightwing, and Tawnyfur. We have two new apprentices as well; Gorsepaw and Owlpaw. Darkfoot and Rushtail have moved into the elder's den."

There was a heartbeat of silence as the Clan leaders murmured to each other. Finally, Blackfoot stepped forward.

"Is he Blackstar now?" meowed a cat to their left.

The DarkClan leader raised his head, "DarkClan is recovering well after the battle. We have four new apprentices. Stumpytail has moved into the elder's den, and the loner who had previously lived in the barn, Barley, has joined him." He paused. "Sabletail and Whiteflower both gave birth to litters of four."

Foxshadow started in surprise. She hadn't realized Sabletail was pregnant. Were those Blackfoot's kittens? She frowned at DarkClan's leader suspiciously, but Blackfoot had already dipped his head and stepped back for Bluestar to speak.

The leader of ThunderClan raised her head and announced, "Goldenflower and Willowpelt have both given birth to two strong and healthy litters. Our elders, Halftail, Smallear and One-eye died due to injuries they sustained at the battle." She dipped her head and the Clans had a moment of silence to commemorate the dead elders. "Our prey is running strong and our Clan is stronger than it has ever been."

Fourtrees fell silent, expecting one of the leaders to announce that the Clans can no return home now that all the news has been shared. Foxshadow looked at Dustpelt in confusion, but the dark brown tom was equally confused. Bluestar and Crookedstar were bristling and meowed at each other, but Foxshadow couldn't hear anything. Finally, Bluestar leaped down from the Great Rock and yowled.

"ThunderClan, it is time we returned to camp!"

A ripple of surprise ran through the Clans. ThunderClan rose as one and began to ascend the slope. Foxshadow glanced back, wondering if the other Clans were leaving and was glad to see WindClan and DarkClan heading up their slope to their home. ShadowClan started to go back up their slope while RiverClan watched ThunderClan disappear over the rim. Foxshadow wondered what Crookedstar had said to Bluestar to hold up the gathering for so long and frowned to herself. She hoped it wasn't anything about Sunningrocks.

Halfway to camp, a commotion broke out among the cats at the head of the patrol. Foxshadow glanced at Dustpelt to make sure he was still beside her before padding around the patrol to the front so she could see what was happening. She saw Goldenflower and Yellowfang disappearing quickly towards the camp and realized that something must have happened back at camp. Goldenflower wouldn't have left the camp if it wasn't serious, especially when she had only given birth herself a halfmoon ago. She should still be resting.

Foxshadow hurried back to the camp after that, leaping cleanly over the bramble wall and into the camp while everyone else went through the bramble tunnel. She quickly padded over to the nursery and winced at the sharp smell of blood.

"Goldenflower?" she meowed nervously. The tired queen was resting outside of the den to give Yellowfang space, but Willowpelt was still inside, probably to prevent the halfmoon old kittens from interfering. "What's going on?"

"Frostfur is in labor," meowed Goldenflower. "And something has gone wrong."

Foxshadow was shocked to find she wasn't all that surprised. Frostfur had gotten pregnant when Mistlekit was three moons old. That was not enough time to recover from giving birth to Mistlekit and Snowkit. An uneasy feeling filled her and she remembered the Snowkit omen so long ago. Snowkit, then Whitestorm, had died and now Frostfur might die. How many more white cats were going to die? She sat down beside Goldenflower and wrapped her tail nervously around her paws.

"How are the kits?" Foxshadow asked, tilting her head towards the nursery and trying to hear something over the sounds of Frostfur struggling to give birth. Her stomach was twisting up at the sounds and her shoulder fur bristled at the sound of the kits hissing at Yellowfang. They were not used to her smell and thought she was an intruder.

"They're okay," Goldenflower meowed sympathetically, putting her tail on Foxshadow's shoulder.

Foxshadow felt like it was going to be a long night. She nodded at the queen and laid down, tucking her paws underneath her. She looked over her shoulder to the rest of the Clan, but it looked like most of them had already headed towards the warriors' den. Whatever went on between Bluestar and Crookedstar would have to wait until tomorrow. Foxshadow wanted to ask her personally and see how far she could push their trust before she broke the news about Tigerclaw.

* * *

 **A/N: There is going to be another short chapter update tomorrow. See ya guys then!**


	29. Forest of Secrets pt 2

**A/N: I think the advantage to having short chapters is that they are easier to write and they give me more time to do other things. Hope no one minds if I do the occasional short chapter more often.  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Foxshadow is not based off me, no. She's _way_ more motherly and feisty than I am, lol.**

 **Maple Dapple: I'm kinda glad you love one of the background characters so much. I'm sure a lot of my readers have forgotten about her because it's been so long since I posted those initial chapters, so it's good to see some new readers remember her kit-craziness.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Frostfur was depressed after the loss of Snowkit, so her solution was to go and get pregnant again. More kits always made her happy before so why not? It never occurred to her that this might be a bad thing, and how could she consult a medicine cat when the current one was a cat she really didn't like?  
**

 **AnonChan1: Well, I think the fact that the joke fell flat speaks volumes for what these cats care about and it certainly isn't that. Iceclaw's "you could have been my mate" mentality is a reflection of the rogue's disregard of respecting she-cats and he would have thought that joke was mocking him. (1) WindClan may not want to start anything, but when the cats responsible for their exile are just next door and their Clan isn't as big as yours, you can bet there's going to be trouble and WindClan is going to start it. (2) Yeah, Sunningrocks is one of those things that cats won't be able to let go. I was really surprised when the first arc went over how special that land was to both Clans but then they easily abandoned it in the second arc. Actually, that's wrong because RiverClan wanted to stay behind and ThunderClan was forced out of their territory when they began tearing down the trees. It just never got specifically brought up in the books, which is a shame. (3) Oooh, I like that you're thinking about this. In fact, you're pretty much thinking along the same lines that I did. DarkClan owes Foxy one and Blackfoot isn't about to forget it either. (4) Dustshadow is going to be one of those healthy relationship stories. There are too many unhealthy romances out there and I just hate them. I hate them with a passion. It's like everyone loves a bad romance. Dustshadow, for the most part, is my answer to that. This is how you can have a good relationship. NOT that I'm saying I'm 100% good at writing them and the relationship could still turn bad despite the good in it, but there should be more good relationships and I prefer to write them. (5) Clan rivalries and pride are on the line. Some Clans just love rubbing it in other Clan's faces. RiverClan happens to be that Clan for ThunderClan.  
**

* * *

Foxshadow hoped that Frostfur was alright but the morning had become quiet and there was too much blood on the air. It did not look like Frostfur had survived the night. Foxshadow had had no sleep the previous night. She hadn't even noticed when Dustpelt had settled down beside her to keep her company and fallen asleep.

At sunhigh, Dustpelt woke up and stretched beside her. He was quiet as he studied her thoughtfully and finally rose up on his paws. "Foxscar?" he asked, using the pet name he had for her. "Do you want me to take Brackenpaw out fighting?"

Foxshadow struggled to gather her thoughts as she blinked blearily at him. Thornpaw was already a pretty good fighter and Brackenpaw hadn't had any experience. Foxshadow had wanted to focus on his hunting skills while their was plenty of prey for him to practice on, so she had neglected his fighting skills. In her mind, fighting training could be done during the colder leaf-fall moons when prey was scarcer.

"We can train Brackenpaw and Thornpaw together," she meowed finally, rising up on her paws and suddenly realizing how tired she was. She was not looking forward to training anyone today. "Brackenpaw hasn't had any fighting practice. He's going to need to be taught the basics before he and Thornpaw can fight."

Dustpelt frowned and nodded. "Then I'll let them hunt instead. Thornpaw could use the practice." His gaze flickered over her pelt. "You should stay here and try to get some rest."

Foxshadow wasn't going to argue that she shouldn't be training the apprentices right now, but she did not want to leave that spot. "I'll stay here until I know for sure that Frostfur is alright."

Dustpelt glanced at the nursery and Foxshadow could tell from his expression that he did not think it was a possibility. With a reluctant nod, he stepped forward to press his nose comfortingly into her fur and then padded away to gather the apprentices.

Foxshadow turned back to the nursery and realized that Goldenflower had fallen asleep beside her. The golden she-cat was probably unable to stay awake as long as Foxshadow could. Foxshadow was not unfamiliar with going a full night without sleep, since she had to take constant flights between her parent's separate houses. It was exhausting, but she had long ago gotten used to it. She was bit more tired now than she would have been then and she couldn't help but blame her cat body for it.

Foxshadow put those thoughts out of her mind as she turned back to the nursery, wondering briefly if Yellowfang had already left while she had been distracted with Dustpelt. She heard the old queen's mew and realized that would not be the case. A few minutes passed before the dark gray she-cat emerged, looking tired. Her eyes were filled with sorrow.

Foxshadow stood up and stepped forward to her ask her how Frostfur was but the question died in her throat. Yellowfang padded away towards the leader's den and Foxshadow felt dread fill her. She padded into the nursery and heard the squeals of kits crying out for milk. She took one look at Brindleface, the grieving queen wrapped around a still large white body, and Foxshadow knew Frostfur was dead. She stared for a long moment at the scene before her as it burned into her brain, her gaze falling to the two white kits at her belly and the two gray kits. The dark gray tabby tom blinked owlishly up at her, unnatural yellow eyes sparkling before he shut his eyes. Foxshadow stared, her thoughts having come to a halt.

It felt like an instant later that Goldenflower appeared, pushing passed her and wailed at the sight of the dead white queen. Foxshadow felt detached from it all. She had known all along that Frostfur was going to die, and there she was. Without Frostfur's milk, the kits would probably die as well. Foxshadow couldn't bare to stand there and stare at them any longer, so she turned quickly and padded out of the den.

The world seemed too bright. Her tired brain struggled to comprehend how such a world could be so cruel. She looked around at the cats and saw recognition in their faces. They seemed to know someone had died. Unable to look at them any longer and see her sadness reflected in their eyes, she turned away and padded into the warriors den and curled up in her den. She found herself falling asleep almost instantly.

Long sharp claws poked her awake and Foxshadow jerked, uncurling from her nest. Tigerclaw glared down at her.

"Now's not the time for laziness, Foxshadow," he meowed. "Bluestar has an announcement to make and it concerns everyone."

It was dawn the following day. Foxshadow padded into the clearing and saw Patchpelt and Brindleface return through the bramble tunnel and wondered if they were just returning from burying Frostfur. Foxshadow had missed the vigil, but she honestly didn't mind. She and Frostfur hadn't been close and Foxshadow was more concerned with Frostfur's kits. Without twelve kittens and only two queens producing milk, it was obvious that not all of them were going to survive.

Foxshadow slowly turned her gaze up at Highrock where Bluestar was perched. Bluestar blinked at her and looked away, scanning the cats. Foxshadow wondered if Bluestar couldn't stand the sight of her grief. She smelled Dustpelt before the tom sat down beside her and pressed into her side. Foxshadow pressed back, relaxing into him and silently grateful for the support.

"Cats of ThunderClan!" she yowled. "It is unfortunate that Frostfur's death should come at a time when ThunderClan is on the brink of war. Fortunately, her kits have survived and are all very healthy." A subdued and surprised murmur filled the camp but they quickly became silent. "Frostfur joins with StarClan as we speak," Bluestar continued, bowing her head in grief.

The rest of the Clan copied the motion. Foxshadow closed her eyes, silently promising Frostfur that she'd do everything she could to help her kits. She made a mental note to ask Brindleface what their names would be.

"I am sure most of you have heard rumors about what happened at the Gathering two days ago," she continued. "Crookedstar has accused Graystripe of murdering both his former mentors."

"What?" meowed Fireheart.

"That isn't true!" yowled Willowpelt. "It can't be true."

At Willowpelt's words, Foxshadow could feel sudden anger flow under pelt, an irrational anger that made her claws unsheathe and her fur bristle all over. _How dare the world be this cruel?_ _How dare Crookedstar say this about Graystripe? Hasn't ThunderClan suffered enough?_

"What evidence do they have of this?" Foxshadow practically spat. "Baseless rumors? Assumptions? Do those RiverClan cats have any brains or are their head full of fish?" Foxshadow's lips pulled back in a snarl as her Clanmates meowed agreement around her. Her voice grew louder and more angry. "Are they trying to start a war!?"

Bluestar's tail-tip twitched thoughtfully. "Crookedstar has been keeping Graystripe prisoner for this reason."

Yowls of outrage filled the Clan.

"The fools!" Foxshadow snarled. "They have a perfectly willing warrior and they are just going to keep him locked up? Because of _rumors!?_ "

"Graystripe would never kill a fellow Clanmate," meowed Willowpelt, her voice almost shrill.

"Graystripe is noble and honorable," meowed Fireheart.

"He betrayed us to RiverClan!" yowled Longtail, turning on the kittypet. "He's been meeting with them in secret for moons!"

"If _that_ was true," snapped Foxshadow. "Crookedstar would never have accused him of being a spy _for us_!"

The silence and agreement that greeted this remark only seemed to fuel the anger in ThunderClan.

"Perhaps we should demonstrate to RiverClan," meowed Tigerclaw, his strong voice causing the Clan to quiet, "that we do not require the aid of a spy to take back what is ours."

Bluestar leaned forward to look down at her deputy. "What do you mean, Tigerclaw?"

"I mean," meowed the deputy patiently, "that ThunderClan should not take this insult lying down. We should prove our strength to them by taking back Sunningrocks."

Foxshadow, for all her irrational anger towards RiverClan, felt her anger die as fear filled her. "That could mean starting a war!" she meowed.

Tigerclaw was silent, his dark amber eyes staring at her calculatingly.

"Is the great Foxshadow afraid of a fight?" snarled Swiftpaw, before Runningwind cuffed him over the head.

The massive she-cat ignored the apprentice and stood up so she could look over the heads of her Clanmates and look each of them in the eye. "I know that we have fought for generations over Sunningrocks, but under these circumstances fighting for that territory could lead to triggering many more fights we cannot cope with. We must be tactful about how we regain that territory if we want to avoid future conflict."

The other Clan cats nodded around her in silent agreement with her words. Foxshadow suddenly realized that she hadn't said anything that would dissuade them from battling for Sunningrocks, but now she couldn't say anything against the idea or else she'd risk losing the favor of the Clan. She was still looking to become the next deputy, once Tigerclaw was exiled or dead, and she had to win them over if she wanted to do that.

 _But still, now is not the time to fight RiverClan over Sunningrocks. We have to prove that we are honorable fighters first and foremost, and taking Sunningrocks would only make them even more upset with us._

"I agree," meowed Tigerclaw instantly, "which is why I was thinking you should be the one to lead the battle patrol against them."

Foxshadow lifted her head in surprise and stared at Tigerclaw, her mind suddenly racing. Was Tigerclaw setting this all up to kill her or was he testing her abilities? "I will do what Bluestar believes is best," she meowed, looking up at Bluestar, who slightly dipped her head in thanks for the trust.

"If no one has any reason to protest this," Bluestar meowed, pausing so that someone could have an opportunity to protest before continuing, "then it is agreed. Foxshadow will lead a patrol to take back Sunningrocks."

Foxshadow flattened her ears in resignation. "When do you think I should have the patrol ready?" she meowed.

Bluestar grew thoughtful. "Before the halfmoon," she decided. "We need to gather our strength and prepare for the fight."

Foxshadow bowed her head. "I will inform everyone who I think should go in just a few days," she decided, before looking at the deputy. "If that is alright with you, Tigerclaw."

The dark warrior bowed his head. "I have faith you will choose wisely."

Foxshadow wasn't sure she wanted his faith and simply dipped her head.

"Our meeting is concluded," Bluestar yowled as she leaped off the top of Highrock and made for her den.

Foxshadow prayed that, whatever the outcome at Sunningrocks, it didn't result in a war. She was going to have to think carefully about who to pick and what strategy she was going to use to do this, and she only have seven days to do this.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't mention this before but I made a small mistake in the alliegances that I had to fix before I update the last chapter. You know how Skyheart is asexual? Well, I accidentally listed her as a pregnant queen in the RIverClan allegiances. Yup. I had to fix that and fast.  
**

 **See you guys next weekend! Don't forget to leave a review!  
**


	30. Forest of Secrets pt 3

**A/N: I need to work on a ton of stuff this weekend for school so I won't be updating tomorrow. Sorry! I'll have two updates next weekend, tho. If nothing goes wrong. Hope you like this medium long chapter!  
**

 **Skyfeet: Omg, you're the second person to say this in as many chapters. I'm so happy thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!  
**

 **Guest: That's weird. Not sure what else to say about it. Do you think they're vampires?  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: Aww, thank you! I understand exactly what you mean. Foxshadow can be totally adorbs. Shadewhite is so cute.**

 **sierra_stanley_52: "she can't be deputy if she becomes deputy" was a bit confusing, but I'm guessing you mean "she can't be a queen if she becomes deputy". But there have been cases where deputies had to retire or step down while leaders generally do not. I think being deputy will be okay because she can step down when she becomes pregnant. It's when she becomes leader that is the problem. And yeah, it was very different in SkyClan. She could get into a lot of trouble for being a leader with kits. War starting kind of trouble. Also, I can't help but thinks of a Brambleclaw X Dustshadow baby x Squirrelflight love triangle. It's so funny. Dustpelt will become grumpy cat.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Yeah, the gap is massive. It's all about how they were raised. (1) That is true. It's also bad stuff that happens... over there, so we won't be getting to see much of it. (2) Yup. (3) ;P (4) Aww, you're probably not as bad as you think, and everyone can improve given time. (5) Yup. (A) Foxshadow's lucky she has Dustpelt around to help her recover from stuff like this. If he didn't love her, she'd probably be floundering like Fireheart was. (B) Yes, they do. Cats sleep on average fifteen hours per day. The only difference between normal cats and the Warrior Cats is that the latter is more humanlike. You won't see a cat from the Clans sleeping away the morning (unless they're an elder). There's work to be done. (C) Hm. (D) Hopefully. We've entered leaf-fall and it's likely to only get colder from here on out. The nursery might be warm, but the prey is going to be scarce and that means less milk and there are only so many borage leaves in the medicine cat den. It's going to be hard... but there's hope. :3 (E) Tigerclaw's been causing a whole lot of emotions in my readers. :)  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: LOL! Glad you're getting into it! Thank you!**

* * *

Foxshadow frowned, eyes narrowing as she examined the terrain. The sandy floor of the long dried up pond sloped slightly upwards around her in a shallow bowl. Thick underbrush and trees collected along its rim, the leaves already starting to turn yellow and orange, obscuring her view of any trespassers beyond. Foxshadow tensed. Whoever it was, she knew they had the advantage of both surprise, agility and speed.

 _And they aren't even from WindClan_ , she thought to herself. At least with WindClan she could use her wide stance and strength to pin them once they showed up, but without the fast paw-strike which RiverClan was known for, she was basically powerless against him. She couldn't use her strength if she couldn't land a paw on him.

Not so with this cat. He was quick on his feet, quiet as a mouse, agile as a squirrel, but had none of her strength and only half the speed of a WindClan warrior. It was going to be a challenge to defeat him.

 _If he doesn't make a mistake._

Foxshadow's ears swiveled at the sound of a stick cracking. The forest was eerie silent, with only the noise of the trees whistling through the leaves overhead. Foxshadow watched a shadow shift behind a thin bush and almost snorted to herself.

 _If this is how he catches prey, it's no wonder he isn't as good as Dustpelt._

She turned away from him, tense and ready to swing around at a moment's notice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his shadow fly across the sand, and she twisted around, swinging her back around so it was out of reach and quickly rearing. Brackenpaw landed exactly where her tail-end had been and looked up at her with wide eyes as she came crashing down. He scrambled back, but she simply pushed herself forward and landed hard on his shoulders, pinning him.

"Well done," she meowed with a teasing purr, "if you were trying to hunt a rock."

Brackenpaw fluffed out his fur in frustration. "I was trying _so_ hard."

"Do not try, do," Foxshadow meowed. "You were thinking so hard on _how_ to fight that you forgot to pay attention to _what_ you were doing. For example, I saw your shadow underneath that bush before you even jumped and it gave you away."

"This is hard," he meowed, ears flattening and lowering his head, his tail wrapping around his paws.

"Leaf-bare is only going to make it harder." Foxshadow's tail-tip twitched. "We _practice_ fighting techniques so that this becomes easier for you." She looked around thoughtfully. "Let's go over some of the moves you could have used during your attack. Let's start with where you should have come from. If you're alone and fighting a warrior much bigger than yourself, they will be expecting you to come at them from the bushes. Try using your tree climbing skills to get above them. No one will think of that."

Brackenpaw looked up at the tree branches nervously and then looked back at her. "But you did."

Foxshadow purred. "Yes, but even I don't always look up."

Brackenpaw swished his tail thoughtfully. "But what if the branches are all too high?"

"Then you'd better land on that warrior or else you'll be stunned," Foxshadow meowed. "After all the leaves have fallen, then we can really practice your landing skills."

Brackenpaw tilted his head curiously. "Okay. What else could I have done?"

Foxshadow purred. "You could have tried not stepping on that stick."

The pale brown tabby wilted. "You heard it."

"Anyone would," she meowed. "Stealth is important for multiple reasons, Brackenpaw. You need to start thinking about what your target might focus their senses on. Sight, sound, smell, touch." She twitched her whiskers and raised a paw, her voice become secretive. "Some animals can hear with their feet."

Brackenpaw nodded. "I'll try to remember that."

"Good," Foxshadow meowed. "Now lets practice some more battle moves before we can call it a day."

Foxshadow had not intended to teach Brackenpaw how to fight until late leaf-fall and early leaf-bare, near the end of his training. There would be less prey for him to practice catching and more time to devote to his stealth skills. It was obvious he could improve on them, but Foxshadow also knew that growing strife between RiverClan and ThunderClan meant that they could be attacked at any moment. This meant that Brackenpaw needed to be ready.

"That's enough for today," she meowed at last, watching Brackenpaw sink back onto his haunches with a frown. "We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. Once you have the moves down, I want you to practice them by yourself in the Sandy Hollow."

"By myself?" Brackenpaw meowed.

"Yes, but not until you have the moves down," she meowed as she twitched her tail thoughtfully. "Head back to camp and make sure to catch something along the way. I'll meet up with you later."

Brackenpaw dipped his head and left.

It was common for Foxshadow to send him off on his own to hunt. The rest of the warriors were so used to it now that they hardly ever asked him where he was going if they found him traveling alone or who had told him to do what. Foxshadow remembered what had happened a week after she had started to train Brackenpaw when Sandstorm had caught him hunting alone and been unhappy to find him doing so without a mentor nearby to watch him. Later that same day, Foxshadow had returned to camp with squirrels in her mouth to find Sandstorm chewing him out and quickly rose to her apprentice's defense.

"He is my apprentice, Sandstorm," Foxshadow had meowed, "and I won't have you ordering him to do the exact opposite of what I told him to do. He is obedient and I trust him not to disobey me. Besides, he works best when he's not being judged every second of the day."

Back then and even now, Foxshadow had not wanted to tell Sandstorm her real reason for doing it, mostly because she didn't think Sandstorm would understand. She knew that one shows their true character while they think no one else is looking. If he knew that she wasn't watching him during his hunting, he'd have all the more reason to act like himself and show Foxshadow if he really was worthy to become Fireheart's deputy... and Brackenpaw had not disappointed her. He was faithful and trustworthy, like any good deputy should be.

Sandstorm had been frustrated and angry that Foxshadow would openly admit that she was letting Brackenpaw run around without supervision. The Clan had not liked the idea at first, but Foxshadow persuaded them. Tigerclaw and Bluestar had both backed her up, and the Clan accepted that the greatest fighter and hunter in the Clan was going to train her apprentice different. It had made life easier for them both. Now Brackenpaw could travel the whole territory unmolested to practice his hunting skills and Foxshadow could spend more of her time sneaking around in the trees, watching him hunt, practicing her own hunting skills, keeping an eye on Ravenfeather, or just thinking over the affairs of the Clan.

With the Sunningrocks battle coming up in a few days, Foxshadow needed time to think. She clawed her way up the bark to perch on one of the lower branches, pausing to take in the sight of the trees around her. The familiar sound of the wind blowing through the high branches reminded her of home and of sleeping in a warm, soft bed. She twisted around and began grooming her pelt, remembering that night when she was going through her vigil, unable to speak and covered in ticks. She had rolled in mouse bile for hours afterwards and washed it all off in the stream before any of her Clanmates could have smelled her.

She had been neglecting cleaning her coat. Dustpelt had already been working on it for her, but it was still bad and was only going to get worse. Foxshadow was already starting to mat-up as her coat became thicker in preparation for the colder moons ahead.

 _If we can have a hunting patrol tomorrow and catch as many rabbits as we can, we can spend all of the day afterwards taking back Sunningrocks._

Foxshadow licked her lips and curled up on the branch, pressing up against the trunk. With the Clan fed, the warriors will be ready to fight. Now, she just needed a battle plan.

The RiverClan dawn patrol always went out after the ThunderClan dawn patrol, which meant that they wouldn't head towards Sunningrocks until well after ThunderClan had returned to camp. If ThunderClan was up early enough, they would be able to take Sunningrocks without a fight.

But if ThunderClan returned to camp after marking the new border, RiverClan would just see it as an insult and they'd remake the border. It could cause a passive aggressive war that could build up into an aggressive one. No, ThunderClan needed to win Sunningrocks decisively. Even if that meant occupying Sunningrocks for an entire day.

 _That's what we'll do then_ , she thought. _We'll win by waiting them out and defending our borders for the entire day._

Satisfied with her plan, she licked a paw, swiped it over her ears and purred to herself, enjoying the congratulatory self-petting. Then, she bounded out of the tree and made straight for camp.

Foxshadow wasn't surprised to find that Brackenpaw was not yet back at camp. The apprentice tended to stay out hunting until sundown when he put his mind to it. Foxshadow didn't want to discourage him from practicing but she made a note to tell him to be back before sunhigh. She wanted to see him on border patrols more often so he could socialize with the Clan and so the Clan could see him being responsible.

Her gaze landed on Fireheart and she quickly padded towards him. "Hello, Fireheart. Where's Ravenfeather?"

"Finishing up the den," meowed Fireheart quietly. "He's covering the whole floor with moss."

Foxshadow couldn't help but imagine Ravenfeather nailing down a sheet of carpet with a big Hammerclaw. She purred. "That's good. I was hoping you and him could join the Sunningrocks battle patrol."

"What?" meowed Fireheart, surprised. "Are you sure that's smart? Tigerclaw could use it to kill Ravenfeather."

"Tigerclaw won't be on the battle patrol and he'll be happy to see Ravenfeather go in case he does die, which makes it a good idea to bring him along." Foxshadow frowned. "I'm trying to select cats who will avoid antagonizing the enemy. It's bad enough I might end up asking Dustpelt to join. He'd hate me otherwise."

Fireheart shifted on his paws nervously and frowned. "Who else is going?"

"The two oldest apprentices," meowed Foxshadow. "It's an opportunity for both of them to get noticed and become warriors. I have to include their mentors as well, so that someone can keep an eye on them during the battle. I also wanted to include Sandstorm. She's serious and has learned to keep her mouth shut."

"But Longtail and Dustpelt might antagonize the RiverClan warriors," Fireheart pointed out.

"I know," meowed Foxshadow, mildly annoyed he'd say that after what she just said about Dustpelt. "It's a necessary evil. I'm going to have Dustpelt and Longtail remain on this side of the current border and make the apprentices hunt there. If a battle breaks out, we can yowl for them to come."

"But what if their patrol is larger than five cats?" Fireheart asked.

"And if it's smaller?" Foxshadow shot back. "If we can defeat them with only five cats, then it's all the better. The RiverClan cats will consider us honorable for it. But if they have more than five, they won't think twice of a nearby patrol coming to our rescue. We won't look like we were sitting in ambush with overwhelming odds."

Fireheart frowned and nodded, his brow furrowed. "It seems like you put a lot of thought into this."

"Yes, I have. I even thought of who should inform the others of them being a part of the battle patrol." Foxshadow looked Fireheart over cautiously.

The red warrior nodded, oblivious.

"I would like you to tell Ravenfeather and Sandstorm that they'll be on the patrol."

Fireheart jumped. "What? Why me?"

Foxshadow blinked in confusion. Surely Sandstorm had already revealed her feelings for him? "Why not you?"

"Sandstorm doesn't like me," he meowed. "She teased me when were just apprentices and she hasn't spoken to me since."

"Oh." Foxshadow was suddenly unsure. "Well, it would be easier on me if _you_ asked her."

Fireheart squinted accusingly at her. "You don't like her either."

Foxshadow bristled. "Maybe _you_ need to learn to stop hiding from your Clanmates." She stood up and turned away before meowing over her shoulder. "Don't forget to tell her."

She made her way over to Runningwind next, deciding that it was better to tell him face-to-face. She didn't want the silvered brown tabby to think she was going to avoid him because of his apprentice's attitude towards her and that she still respected him as a warrior. He was easy to find, having recently returned from a ShadowClan border patrol.

"Foxshadow?" meowed the tom, looking suddenly nervous as he glanced around. "Is Dustpelt around?"

Foxshadow sat down in surprise, raising a paw to her head and ducking her head. "His reign of terror is spreading."

Runningwind's eyes widened in terror and looked around, suddenly twice as nervous.

Foxshadow couldn't help a _mrrow_ of laughter. "Calm down, Brownfoot. I'll talk to him about it. I actually came over here because I wanted to tell you that you and your apprentice are on the Sunningrocks battle patrol."

"Really? After what happened at Lion's Trap?"

"Of course," Foxshadow meowed. "However, I would suggest you give your apprentice some extra training. I need to know he will follow your commands or our entire battle patrol could fall apart."

"I understand," Runningwind meowed, dipping his head. "I am sorry for the grief my apprentice has caused you."

Foxshadow started. "Just make sure it doesn't cost us the battle." She hesitated. "I should probably warn you in advance. I'm splitting the whole patrol into two groups. There's going to be leading a hunting patrol on this side of the current border, and I want your apprentice on it and you on the battle patrol."

Runningwind flinched. "I understand."

"No, you don't," meowed Foxshadow. "I'm not punishing you or separating you from your apprentice because I think your a bad mentor. On the contrary, I am doing it because I trust your judgement and temperament. When we fight the RiverClan patrol, I don't want anyone who is too aggressive on the main patrol and I don't trust your apprentice's judgement or temper enough to have him there."

Runningwind nodded, looking sad. "Is he really that bad?"

"Only when it comes to me. He has no problem with anyone else."

"I see," he meowed, looking at his paws.

Foxshadow wished she could have said something positive about Swiftpaw, but her own experience with the young tom made that impossible. _He'd respect me more if I was the deputy_ , she thought, _and if he was smarter._

She rose to her paws and made to leave. "I have to inform the others that they'll be on the patrol. I will make an announcement about when the Sunningrocks battle patrol is going to take place soon."

Runningwind nodded. Foxshadow turned and padded towards the warriors den, hoping to find Dustpelt there. However, he had already left for the sunhigh patrol. With a sigh, she padded over to Bluestar's den instead to give the news.

"Bluestar?" she meowed to announce herself.

"Come in."

Foxshadow took a moment to gather herself before ducking her head and pushing through the curtain of lichen. Bluestar was curled at the back of the den in her nest, but Tigerclaw was nowhere to be found. Foxshadow dipped her head respectfully towards the ThunderClan leader.

"I've decided who will be going on the Sunningrocks battle patrol. I was hoping Tigerclaw would be here as well."

Bluestar nodded. "I will inform him of the news. Who have you decided will be going?"

"I was thinking of splitting the patrol, one which will be nearby in case we call for help. They'll be hunting on this side of the current border," she began, "while the other patrol marks and occupies Sunningrocks' territory."

Bluestar flicked her ears silently and waited. Foxshadow twitched uncomfortably.

"I have decided that Runningwind, Sandstorm, Fireheart, and Ravenfeather will be with me on the battle patrol. Dustpelt, Longtail, Brightpaw and Swiftpaw will be hunting nearby."

Bluestar frowned. "You are taking a lot of cats with you."

Foxshadow sucked in a breath. "I know," she meowed. "I want everyone up at dawn, since RiverClan always does their dawn patrols late. We will be acting as the dawn patrol for the RiverClan border and we will be staying there all day long. I want RiverClan to know that they cannot force us our or sneak over the border without being spotted by us. We will demonstrate our strength and ownership over the land through our presence. Mousefur, Tigerclaw, Goldenflower, Brindleface, Willowpelt, and the apprentices can handle the other border patrols. Plus, Longtail, Dustpelt, Brightpaw and Swiftpaw will be close by if the camp is attacked so you can send Cinderpaw to fetch them if things go badly."

"Have you thought about how we will feed ourselves?"

Foxshadow nodded. "I was planning to take some cats to the Lion's Trap to catch a bunch of rabbits today and tomorrow. They should feed the Clan until we return at dusk with the prey we have caught the day after."

Bluestar frowned but nodded. "I am trusting your judgement on this, Foxshadow."

"Yes, Bluestar," Foxshadow meowed, relieved. She hesitated again, suddenly unsure. "Bluestar, I'm going to need you to announce to the Clan that the battle is going to take place in two days."

Bluestar slid her gaze towards the entrance to the den. "I will tell the Clan once Tigerclaw's patrol has returned."

Foxshadow bowed her head. "Thank you."

"You're dismissed."

"Goodnight, Bluestar," Foxshadow meowed, before turning and padding away. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she practically bounded towards the warrior's den. A small, pale brown tabby intercepted her.

"I'm not going on the battle patrol?" Brackenpaw asked, looking hurt.

Foxshadow looked towards the apprentice's den and frowned when she saw Swiftpaw quickly leave Cinderpaw and Thornpaw outside of the den.

Making a mental note to claw Swiftpaw's ears off later, she looked down at Brackenpaw. She couldn't keep the edge of anger out of her voice. "Is that a problem?"

Brackenpaw flattened his ears. "I thought that you'd bring us along. I thought that's what you've been training me for."

"Swiftpaw and Brightpaw have more battle experience than you and your siblings, Brackenpaw. Besides, I want you to spend more time on border patrols and socializing with your Clanmates. They need to know you are willing to defend the borders and be polite enough to your enemies so as to prevent future wars." She paused, studying Brackenpaw's crestfallen face carefully before sighing. "Brackenpaw, I'm training you to fight so you can defend yourself in case the battle at Sunningrocks turns ugly. If a war breaks out because of this, a lot of cats could die. I need you ready to protect your Clanmates, not going out there in the first battle and potentially getting yourself killed. You need more experience and more battle practice."

"I would have more battle practice if you had started training me earlier," Brackenpaw meowed, his voice quiet and angry.

Foxshadow blinked. "In the months to come, you're going to be grateful you spent all this time practicing your hunting, Brackenpaw. Prey is going to be scarce and you'll need every trick you have learned to catch as much prey as you can or else the Clan will starve." She frowned. "Remember, Brackenpaw, that a starved Clan is a dead Clan."

Brackenpaw lowered his head and flattened his ears, before nodding.

An idea suddenly came to her. "Brackenpaw, I'm going to need you and your siblings to do something very important for me."

Brackenpaw looked up, looking curious despite still feeling crestfallen. "Yes, Foxshadow?"

"The day after tomorrow is the battle patrol," meowed Foxshadow. "There is not going to be any hunting patrols on that day, so tomorrow you and your siblings to going to come with me to the Lion's Trap and catch as many rabbits as we can. It has to be enough to last us for two whole days, so you all will need to be quick and sharp-clawed."

Brackenpaw perked up. "Okay, Foxshadow."

The massive she-cat purred. "You're welcome, Brackenpaw. Just remember to be careful and don't let Swiftpaw talk you into doing anything stupid, okay?"

Brackenpaw nodded and bounded away, much cheerier than he had been before. With a purr, Foxshadow continued her way to the warrior's den and finally settled down in her nest.

 _Dustpelt must be with Tigerclaw,_ she thought, suddenly uneasy. If Dustpelt had been getting on Runningwind's case for being a fanboy, there's no telling what he's going to say to Tigerclaw. Foxshadow felt exasperated and embarrassed.

 _Haven't I told him that he shouldn't be jealous? What is he telling the other toms?  
_

Foxshadow snorted as an image of Dustpelt telling every tom in ThunderClan to stop staring at his waifu. She frowned thoughtfully to herself and wondered what her family could be thinking right now. Her human body was probably lying in a hospital bed in a coma. She licked her paw thoughtfully and swiped it over her head, hoping to erase the image from her brain. She was a ThunderClan warrior now and had duties and expectations to fulfill.

She curled up in her nest to sleep and woke to feel of someone settling down beside her. She blinked open her eyes and relaxed at the familiar scent of Dustpelt beside her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," the tom meowed.

Foxshadow yawned and squinted her eyes at him. "You've been harassing Runningwind."

"What? No, no way," he said, glancing around the half-filled den at the other sleeping warriors. His chest fluffed up in embarrassment.

Foxshadow lifted her head, adopting a scolding look. "You need to stop letting your jealous get out of control. You're the only tom in ThunderClan for me, so relax."

Dustpelt licked his chest fur flat. He paused. "I've heard you started gathering together the Sunningrocks battle patrol."

The brown and white she-cat rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dustpelt, you're on the patrol. I'm splitting the patrol into two, one for the fight at Sunningrocks and the other to wait on this side of the current border and hunt. If the battle patrol is in trouble, I want the hunting patrol to be within easy reach of us."

Dustpelt nodded slowly. "Okay," he meowed. "Why don't you just keep everyone in one patrol?"

"Because RiverClan might think we were planning an invasion if I did that," Foxshadow meowed. "I just want to send a message to them that ThunderClan owns and protects the Sunningrocks now, without it seeming like we are gathering intel on them or starting war."

Dustpelt nodded. "So, which patrol am I going to be on?"

"You're leading the hunting patrol, while I lead the battle patrol," Foxshadow meowed. "You'll be keeping an eye on Runningwind's apprentice while he's on the battle patrol."

Dustpelt bristled. "Why can't Runningwind take care of his own apprentice?"

"Swiftpaw needs a stern paw to keep his temperament under control and to keep him obedient," meowed Foxshadow. "Runningwind is too soft for that role and I know I can trust him to hold his tongue if we run into a RiverClan patrol. I need you to keep Swiftpaw in line and away from the battle until we actually need your help. You can make him respect you."

"Right," meowed Dustpelt, his fur prickling in pride. "I didn't realize you had such faith in me."

Foxshadow purred. "You're a loyal warrior of ThunderClan and one of our best mentors. Of course I have faith in your abilities."

Dustpelt grinned and purred loudly. Foxshadow snorted at him and pressed into his side before curling up to sleep. Tomorrow she was going to take the apprentices hunting so the freshkill pile was full and the Clan wouldn't have to worry about food for a few days. Then, the next day would be the battle at Sunningrocks.

* * *

 **A/N: Again, a reminder that I will not be updating tomorrow.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!  
**


	31. Forest of Secrets pt 4

**A/N: I'm surprise I only got three reviews last time. You guys busy with school? How is that going?**

 **AnonChan1: Haha! Yeah, they are all a bunch of workaholics. I never thought of it like that before, but it's accurate. That's strangely funny to me. XD. And, yeah, nothing's ever easy. (I) GOOD! I was intending for that. I am such a troll. (II) Yeah, Brackenpaw's a little bit worried that he's got a lot to live up to. Lol. (III) There needed to be a reason for her to... oh, we aren't there yet in the story. Sorry. XD (IV) Oh... uhm... it's still Firestorm, I'm just actually now working on their pairing. Yeah. You know, you're the reason I posted the poll... (V) Brackenpaw's not to blame for Swiftpaw putting thoughts in his head. (VI) Poor Runningwind.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: You too!? I love it! I couldn't get that out of my head while I was writing the last chapter. Great minds think alike. XD  
**

 **VinejawVinewings: Swiftpaw is getting a lot more characterization here than in the books and I'm so happy you're loving him! And thank you for mentioning Fox's human self. I sometimes think that people forget that she was once human (because I'm kinda stupid and insecure XD). I'm so happy you're enjoying my chapters!  
**

* * *

The tall, green patchy grass in the clearing beside the river rippled in the cold, night wind that howled through the forest. The leaves overhead rustled and the wind carried the promise of rain. Massive boulders towered a fox-length above the grass tips, turning almost silver in the moonlight. A purplish tint had started to creep across the sky as dawn slowly approached, warming the earth and causing a thin mist to settle over the land. The forest slowly began to wake with the dawn, filling the air with their white noise. A morning lark twittered loudly before suddenly falling silent. Hearing this, frogs halted their chirping. A tension began to mount as the forest waited for someone or something to break the silence.

A massive she-cat surged up on to the tallest rock, her long fur parting in the wind to reveal a bright red flash of underfur. She remained standing, her head lowered and tail tip twitching, like a fox eying up its prey. Her sun-gold eyes seemed to glow in the dark as her almond irises narrowed into slits. Around her, three toms and a she-cat took up positions on top of their chosen rock, trying to take the tallest rock in the area.

"This doesn't feel right," meowed Fireheart, looking towards RiverClan's border and shifting on his rock.

The massive she-cat's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I was expecting you to say that. What do you think, Runningwind?"

The senior most warrior present meowed, "I think your strategy is going to be great, Foxshadow."

"They certainly won't be expecting it," Ravenfeather meowed quietly, shifting nervously as he crouched on his rock. The black cat's tail lashed nervously. "Shouldn't they have shown up by now?"

"They are always late for the dawn patrol," responded Foxshadow, with a shrug.

"Lazy RiverClan cats," muttered Sandstorm with an angry ear flick.

Foxshadow purred in amusement, remembering how they had looked like kittypets at the gathering. "Everyone remember the plan?"

The other four cats nodded and a tense silence fell over Sunningrocks. The sun rose slowly over the land, until only a small sliver still remained behind the horizon. A loud yowl from the river announced the arrival of RiverClan's dawn patrol. Dark shapes approached from the water.

Foxshadow counted six cats and felt a wave of dread. There were three adult warriors, Whiteclaw, Loudbelly and Heavystep, and three apprentices she knew right away were children of Blackclaw and Mistyfoot. Because she knew none of the apprentices survived in the books, this only made her dread the coming battle even more.

 _If they do die, though, there won't be war_ , a dark voice told her. Her fur bristled in fear and let out a breath.

She yowled. "Halt, RiverClan! This is ThunderClan territory!"

Whiteclaw glared up at her in anger. "The Sunningrocks belong to RiverClan!"

Before the two sides could begin bantering back and forth, one of the apprentices - a dark gray tom with black spots - rushed forward, ignoring the cries of his mentor, Heavystep, and tried unsuccessfully to leap up at Fireheart, who was the closest. The red tabby stiffened in surprise but swiped out a paw, claws swiping out at the apprentice's forepaws and sending the spotted cat sliding backwards off the rock.

The morning dew had made the rocks slippery and Foxshadow was glad she had the patrol arrive earlier when the rocks were dry.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Ravenfeather, uncertainty in his voice as the rest of the RiverClan cats charged towards them.

"We might be able to hold them," meowed Foxshadow. "But not forever. When you see an opening to leave, take it."

The other two RiverClan apprentices had locked onto Ravenfeather, singling the black out as the weakest. Foxshadow made a mental note to bring Ravenfeather along to train with her apprentice at the Sandy Hollow in the future before she was distracted by Heavystep. The big, thickset tabby made to leap up onto the rock beside her but his back legs slipped out from underneath him and he landed flat on his belly.

"Foxdung!" spat the RiverClan tom, shaking with rage and fear as he climbed to his feet. "I didn't realize ThunderClan was full of cowards."

"If you actually patrolled this area before dawn, you wouldn't have this problem," meowed Foxshadow.

Heavystep spat angrily and managed to gather his paws under him so he was crouching on the rock, glaring up at her angrily.

"The battles already half won for ThunderClan," Foxshadow taunted. "What are you going to do, mousebrain? Wiggle around on the rocks like a worm?" She barked a laugh. "You all are a bunch of _worm_ brains! It makes so much sense."

The big tabby hissed. "Come down here and fight me, foxheart."

"Floppy fish," meowed Foxshadow, enjoying herself. "Kittypet's slop."

Heavystep rose to his paws and leaped, landing on the top of the boulder right next to Foxshadow, and she backed up, halting at the edge. She realized belatedly that taunting the RiverClan cat had been a bad idea. The big tom leaned forward, anger and triumph in his eyes.

A faint memory of a random fact she had found online flashed through her mind. Apparently, cats could survive falls that fell into a certain range of heights. If they fell from a ledge that was too high, they would break their legs. If they fell from a height too short, they wouldn't be able to get their feet under them and hit the ground badly. Foxshadow wasn't sure if the rock was high enough and wished she had added that to her calculations.

 _It would have been better if I had actually been paying attention and not taunting the tom!_

Heavystep interrupted her thoughts and slashed at her shoulder, his paw slamming into her side and pushing her back. She instinctively rolled away and rolled right off the rock into the mud which made a squishy noise underneath her. She hoped she would not be feeling it later and was glad she didn't feel winded.

She twisted and rolled as Heavystep landed on the ground where she had been a heartbeat ago and whipped around to face him, paw upraised to strike his fur. He shifted to his haunches and rose, bouncing forward to pin her under his paws. She wiggled, pushing herself underneath him much to the tom's surprise and kicked out her hindpaws into his stomach. The big tom grunted and collapsed, winded, right on top of her.

Foxshadow realized with a start that Heavystep was bigger, heavier and stronger than her. She thrashed and wiggled in an attempt to get her paws underneath her, but found herself distracted as he twisted around and bit her foreleg. A stab of pain rippled up from her wrist and she snarled, biting his ear. With a muffled yowl, he let go and stood up, allowing her to escape. She leaped away and whipped around to face him, wincing as she put weight on her paw. She saw blood drip from his ear and down his neck, turning his fur dark. The two cats studied each other carefully, tense and ready to spring back into the fight.

The massive she-cat's gaze shifted to over his shoulder. She saw Whiteclaw and Fireheart fighting, with the apprentice from before helping Whiteclaw. Runningwind was caught up in a fight with Loudbelly, with Sandstorm helping to flank him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ravenfeather yowl in pain and suddenly bolt for the forest, the two apprentices cheering his defeat before turning to rejoin the battle.

Heavystep made a move for her, but she leaped straight up, returning to her perch on the rock. He snarled in frustration, revealing his teeth and tongue in an angry hiss. Foxshadow turned away from him just as the two apprentices began climbing the rocks to attack her.

She hissed, leaped at the apprentices and forcing them to scramble back. She pinned one easily under her and gave the black tom a sharp nip on his shoulder. The other apprentice yowled angrily and said something Foxshadow couldn't comprehend before leaping onto her back. She shifted but didn't let go until the apprentice underneath her went limp. She staggered back, the other apprentice clinging to her back causing her to struggle to stand up, hissing as the black apprentice leaped up and fled.

A heartbeat later, Heavystep slammed into her side and caused her to stagger sideways. The blue-gray she-cat on her back made a gasping noise and pushed off, landing awkwardly on her paws a tail length away. Foxshadow looked towards them, preparing to attack, only for her paws to slip on the rocks and for her to fall off. She grunted as she hit a rock on her way down, winded. Heavystep landed beside her and the small apprentice joined him, hissing down at her. Foxshadow was momentarily afraid that she had been paralyzed in the fall, but manged to scramble onto her paws. Her injured leg protested as she stood.

"Give up?" Heavystep hissed.

Foxshadow bristled, suddenly afraid. But she couldn't back off now, not when she was trying to become the next deputy of ThunderClan. She had to succeed. So she raised her head and fluffed out her fur in importance. "I fought a fox single-pawed. You think one warrior and an apprentice can beat me?"

Heavystep looked surprised, but the blue-gray apprentice hissed.

"I don't believe you," the she-cat said. "You're a puny ThunderClan cat! You can't possible beat a fox."

Foxshadow sneered. "Do I look like a ThunderClan cat to you? I thought my heritage would be obvious."

Heavystep hesitated, looking from her WindClan-shaped head to her long ThunderClan-like fur to her large RiverClan-like size and broad ShadowClan-like chest. His brow furrowed in confusion for a long moment before he mentally shook himself.

"You're a warrior of ThunderClan," he meowed, matter-of-factly.

"Of course I am," she meowed, baffled that he needed to say that out loud before remembering cats put their emphasis on heritage first and loyalty second. "I am a loyal cat of ThunderClan."

" _ThunderClan, attack!_ " yowled the familiar voice of Dustpelt.

Foxshadow yowled as she lunged at Heavystep, aiming for his injured ear. The large warrior surprised her by quickly rising to his hindlegs. She landed underneath him and used her good leg to push out from under him and in front of the blue-gray she-cat apprentice. Foxshadow swiped the pint-sized apprentice's paws out from under her and pounced when she rolled over, pinning her. Foxshadow hesitated for a split-second before mouthing Primrosepaw's throat, holding her there and squeezing when Primrosepaw started to struggle. Foxshadow ignored the sick fear-scent which rolled into her mouth and kept her there, frozen, waiting.

"Primrosepaw!" yowled Heavystep, sinking his teeth into Foxshadow's shoulder and yanking her away.

Foxshadow yowled and released Primrosepaw as she was dragged off the apprentice. The blue-gray apprentice stood up, took one look at Foxshadow's stoney face, and finally fled. Foxshadow felt her heart sink and her body relax as Heavystep twisted her around and pinned her, his teeth sinking into her shoulder.

" _Foxshadow!_ " Dustpelt yowled as he thundered onto the scene.

He leaped into Heavystep's side and caused the massive tom to stagger off Foxshadow. The massive she-cat immediately climbed to her paws and twisted around, pausing when she saw Heavystep square off against Swiftpaw and Dustpelt. She padded up between them and looked at Heavystep.

"It's time for you to leave," she yowled. "Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan!"

Heavystep spat at her before turning and rushing across the clearing towards the river and the new border. Foxshadow couldn't bring herself to feel triumph over this, remembering her teeth at the young apprentice's throat.

 _It was necessary to make a point and get her to flee,_ she thought. A Clan cat always fled once they realized they couldn't win, though this rule was only enforced when it came to apprentices. Some cats would fight to the death, like Thistleclaw did. She hoped Blackclaw would forgive her for scaring his kit like that.

She shuddered and turned away, bounding up the rock to look around. There were no dead bodies lying around and RiverClan had fled. She couldn't help the feeling of triumph fill her and she let out a yowl and the other ThunderClan cats joined in. As they yowled, she looked around and made sure that all the right cats were present. Ravenfeather was the only one who had not joined in, looking guilty. She leaped down into the mud and padded over, putting her tail on his shoulder.

"You did good," she meowed. "We wouldn't have made it if Dustpelt and the others hadn't come. Good idea to fake being defeated like that."

"I should have at least been able to scare one away," Ravenfeather meowed, flattening his ears. "I really am a terrible warrior."

"Just because you aren't a good fighter doesn't mean you aren't a good warrior," meowed Foxshadow. "I'll tell Tigerclaw you did well and not go into details about this in case he gets ideas to send you into battle again." She paused. "In fact, I might embellish."

Ravenfeather nodded in gratitude but she realized he wasn't feeling good about it. She remembered Barley and his barn, and wondered if Ravenfeather really was destined to leave the Clans for the loner. _If Barley is still a loner_ , she thought, remembering when Blackfoot announced that some unknown cat who had previously lived in the barn had joined DarkClan. She suddenly realized that Barley might not have joined willingly.

She pushed the thought aside and turned away to speak with Dustpelt. She lowered her voice. "Did Swiftpaw fight well?"

"Yes," meowed Dustpelt. "He wasn't a problem."

"As did Brightpaw," meowed Longtail suddenly, stepping up to Foxshadow. "She fought well against Whiteclaw."

Foxshadow nodded, suddenly frustrated. "Did Fireheart chase the apprentice away?"

Longtail bristled, before begrudgingly saying, "I did not see any apprentice but he fought against Whiteclaw well."

Foxshadow was both pleased and disgruntled over this. "So, the apprentice fled. It seems that fighting on the rocks is not as an effective fighting strategy as I hoped. It's only good for keeping a cat safe and delaying the enemy." She looked around, murmuring to herself. "I hope this territory was worth it."

They hadn't come out of the battle untouched. Besides Foxshadow's injured foreleg and shoulder, Runningwind had a bloody tail, Sandstorm had a clawed cheek, and Fireheart was bleeding from a scratch over his eye. Foxshadow noticed that the hunting patrol and Ravenfeather had gotten out of the battle without a scratch.

"ThunderClan," she yowled, grabbing everyone's attention. "We have had a good victory today, but RiverClan may be back at any moment to try and reclaim Sunningrocks. With this in mind, I want a few cats to remain behind and take up position on the tallest rocks. Swiftpaw, Brightpaw, you will be coming back with us to the camp once you have collected your prey. Everyone who was injured will return to camp. Fireheart and Sandstorm, since you're the least hurt, you'll help the apprentices collect their prey. Dustpelt, Longtail and Ravenfeather, you will stay here and protect Sunningrocks."

The cats separated into the three groups. Fireheart gestured for Swiftpaw to lead the way and the black and white tom looked suddenly smug as he led the prey patrol. Dustpelt gathered his patrol around him and surged up the rocks to take up positions. Foxshadow noticed that he picked the rock she had been on and shook her head in amusement.

She finally turned to Runningwind, and the two of them headed back to camp. Despite having scared a new apprentice, Foxshadow felt good about their victory today, mostly because no one had died. She couldn't wait to tell the Clan of their victory.

* * *

 **A/N: There's a poll up for Fireheart pairings! Let me know who you prefer! Will it have an effect on this story? Nah, but I'm still curious. If you guys don't have an account, don't forget to leave a review of who you think he should be paired with and leave your anon signature.**

 **Random canon character that was featured in this chapter: Heavystep and also Primrosepaw. Pikepaw was the apprentice who rushed in the fight there, if you guys didn't notice. He's Heavystep's apprentice... yeah.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I will hopefully have a new chapter posted tomorrow. Sorry for this one being latish.  
**

 **\- S.I.S.**

 **EDIT: I forgot to put Sandstorm in the chapter, so here's the final version with Sandstorm's bits. In hindsight, Foxshadow went overkill with the amount of cats on the patrol, considering half the RiverClan cats were apprentices, but whatevs.  
**


	32. Forest of Secrets pt 5

**A/N: Ugh, here's a little AN for the guys who missed out on the final update to the last chapter. I forgot to add Sandstorm's parts in the last chapter. So yeah, the new version has been uploaded, but for those you not interested in rereading it (it's basically the same exact thing except for a few extra lines) she went with Fireheart and the apprentices to collect prey. Sorry about that! It only occurred to me at 1:30 that I forgot someone and found out it was Sandy. x(  
**

 **wolfpup2479: Glad to see someone new! Welcome! Wow, there are so many CinderxFire fans out there. Cute.  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: 6 years. Ever since she was ten. She was technically 16 when she was first turned into a cat and is around 17 now.  
**

 **AnonChan1: College SUUUCCCKKS. (1) LOL. I could totally see Dustpelt doing that. Or Graystripe. Especially when Foxshadow isn't around. xD (2) Hm. (3) Glad you're into it! I love your reaction CAPS. (4) Yeah, poor Primrosepaw. She bit off more than she could chew.  
**

 **TheAlphaofDarkness: Ravenfeather has Foxshadow to help him improve. You know... in the second chapter of Oneshots, my other warrior cats fanfic, there's a short at the end with CinderxFire if you're interested. :) Just thought I'd let you know.  
**

 **S1L3NT: She doesn't? Hm. I wouldn't say that for sure. War might still be on the horizon.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Yeah, it did. Which is good for the older apprentices because that means they can become warriors now... right?  
**

* * *

As the adrenaline from the battle faded away, Foxshadow couldn't help but wince whenever she forgot herself and accidentally used her paw. It wasn't twisted, thank StarClan, but it was obvious she had either fractured a bone or seriously sprained it. She couldn't tell which. Despite playing on her Middle School soccer team, she had never ever gotten injured this seriously before. It was starting to swell.

 _If I have any chance of not doing permanent damage, I am going to need to stay off this for a moon, at least._

Foxshadow hoped Dustpelt wouldn't mind if she asked him to take Ravenfeather and Brackenpaw for battle training. Ravenfeather could use the confidence boost and Brackenpaw could use the training, at least to distract him from her being unable to train him and from Swiftpaw. Until Swiftpaw's attitude improved around her, Foxshadow wasn't sure she could trust the apprentice to act on his own as a warrior of ThunderClan.

Speaking of whom...

"I've been told that Swiftpaw fought well today," she told Runningwind. "He gave Dustpelt no trouble."

Runningwind started and then preened. "That's great news!" He looked like someone who had just shed the weight of the world, light on his paws, with his tail struggling to remain still behind him.

"However," meowed Foxshadow, frowning at Runningwind's reaction, "his attitude towards me and you is alarming. I cannot reward such behavior, especially when it is disrupting my apprentice's training."

"What?" Runningwind looked shocked and... hurt? "He doesn't have a problem with you."

Foxshadow flicked her ears. "So, you admit he has a problem with you."

Runningwind fell silent, stung.

"I can't recommend him to become a warrior when he lacks even the _pretense_ of respect for his mentor," meowed Foxshadow firmly. "His disobedience is a sign of his disrespect and you cannot let that continue if you hope for him to become a warrior before the end of the moon." She paused, brows furrowed thoughtfully. "You can explain my reasoning to him when Brightpaw becomes a warrior."

Runningwind came to a dead stop, shocked. "You're going to have Brightpaw made a warrior without him? He'll be devastated."

"She doesn't deserve to be held back simply because of her brother's attitude," meowed Foxshadow, giving Runningwind a sly look. "You can explain that to Swiftpaw as well."

 _I'm sure Brightpaw wouldn't want to become a warrior without her brother_ , Foxshadow thought. _Sibling bonds triumph over loyalty to the Clan._

Foxshadow frowned to herself at the thought. She had always been an only child and didn't quite understand sibling loyalty, or even loyalty to one's family. Foxshadow thought it would be better if loyalty to their Clan superseded their loyalty to each other, though she didn't like the idea of them hating each other either. If she could convince kits to find some middle ground while being aware of their bloodline so they could avoid becoming mates then surely the Clan would be better for it.

"Swiftpaw _admires_ you," Runningwind meowed, pain in his voice. "How can you do this to him?"

Foxshadow felt a flash of irritation and fury, and she whipped around to glare at Runningwind. "It's not Swiftpaw who admires me, Runningwind. He hates my guts and he's taking it out on my apprentice." Her tail kinked over her back in her anger and her fur fluffed out. "It's _you_ who admires me. Quit projecting yourself onto him and stop treating him like he's _you_."

"But he is just like me," meowed Runningwind, ears flat and half crouching.

Foxshadow had never heard a statement so mousebrained in her whole life. "No, he isn't. He's Swiftpaw not Runningpaw, and he _hates_ me because of _you_. How many times has he heard you talk about how great I am, I wonder? How many times have you told him that I'm the greatest warrior? You put yourself down and put me on the Great Rock without thinking about how that is affecting your apprentice. He knows he can never be like me and he knows he can only be as great as you are. And because you keep saying I am better than you all the time, if not in words alone then in manner, he is constantly confronted with the fact that he will never be as great as me. He resents you and me because of this. He wants to be the best warrior in the Clan, just like every other apprentice, and he can't do that with a mentor who doesn't even believe himself is a good warrior let alone a _great_ one."

Runningwind stared at her, speechless.

"You should feel ashamed of yourself and the way you've been acting around your apprentice," snapped Foxshadow. "If you don't start proving to him how great a warrior you really are instead of putting yourself down, he's going to become so resentful of me _and you_ that he'll attack me anyway he can. He's already started targeting me and my apprentice, and if he doesn't stop I'm going to break his legs and make him as worthless as he really thinks he is. I won't tolerate his behavior towards me or my apprentice _anymore_."

Foxshadow glared at the shocked warrior for a heartbeat longer and turned away, padding back towards the camp and wincing as her paw twinged painfully when it accidentally scraped the ground. She raised her forepaw and began hopping instead.

 _I_ _'m not going to be in the mood for Swiftpaw's attitude when he finds out I decided to postpone his warrior ceremony,_ she thought, her tail lashing thoughtfully as she ducked into the bramble tunnel and into camp. Foxshadow was mildly surprised to see Bluestar waiting for her but was not surprised to see Tigerclaw beside her. She padded up to the leader of ThunderClan and dipped her head respectfully.

"How did it go?" meowed Tigerclaw, an edge to his tone.

"We were victorious," Foxshadow meowed, pausing when Tigerclaw relaxed. Any pride that she might have felt withered at his slightly smug features.

Bluestar nodded. "Any injuries?"

Foxshadow raised her forepaw. "This and Runningwind's tail were the worst of our injuries. Fireheart is coming back with all the prey the apprentice's caught. Fireheart and Sandstorm have a few minor cuts. Dustpelt and the others are guarding Sunningrocks."

"That's good news," Bluestar meowed, pleased. "How did the apprentice's fare?"

"Brightpaw did well," meowed Foxshadow, "but I have concerns about Swiftpaw. Swiftpaw has no respect for his mentor or me. It may not have caused problems this time but it could potentially get someone killed if he doesn't learn to be respectful."

"Are you suggesting we delay Swiftpaw's warrior ceremony?" meowed Bluestar, her face pinching slightly in a frown with her tail-tip twitching.

"It would be the best course of action," meowed Foxshadow. "Though I suggest we shouldn't delay Brightpaw's warrior ceremony. We do need warriors, after all."

"I see," said Bluestar. "I will think about what you have said, Foxshadow."

The massive she-cat dipped her head. "I should head to the medicine cat den."

"Thank you, Foxshadow," meowed Bluestar. "Tell Runningwind that I would like to speak with him after Yellowfang is done with his injuries."

Foxshadow dipped her head again and turned away.

"She will make a good deputy one day," meowed Tigerclaw, loud enough for Foxshadow to hear.

"Indeed," meowed Bluestar.

Foxshadow's ears swiveled backwards and she paused, before forcing her paws to limb her towards the medicine cat den. She didn't like the idea of Tigerclaw talking about her behind her back like this, especially when she secretly wanted the position after Tigerclaw was gone. Did he plan on making her his deputy after he killed Bluestar? A chill ran down her spine. Everything was falling so easily into place and it unsettled her. It shouldn't be this easy to become the next deputy.

 _Why would Tigerclaw want his deputy to be someone who can never die?_ she thought. _Does he know I won't be interested in becoming leader because the leadership ceremony would kill me? And since I can't die, no one can take my place?_

Foxshadow halted at the entrance to the medicine cat den.

 _Perhaps I can use this to my advantage?_

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

It was hours later when Foxshadow hobbled out of the prisoner's den and sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws. Yellowfang had long since finished wrapping her injured forepaw in a poultice and made her promise not to do anything rash while wearing it. Foxshadow knew Yellowfang would not be happy to find out she had left her nest to watch the announcement.

"Sunningrocks is ours!" Bluestar yowled and the camp erupted into cheers. Foxshadow licked her chest flat when she spotted a few cats glance in her direction. Bluestar continued, "There is time in every apprentice's life when they have proven themselves worthy to become warriors and today we are going to witness one of those moments. Brightpaw, please step forward."

The ginger and white apprentice padded up to the base of the High Rock, glancing eagerly back towards Swiftpaw in excitement before it faded into confusion. She glanced up at Bluestar, brows furrowed in confusion.

"I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend her you as a warrior in her turn." Bluestar looked down on Brightpaw. "Brightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Brightpaw glanced at Swiftpaw once more and dipped her head nervously. "Is my brother going to be made a warrior?"

Bluestar looked towards Foxshadow. "Your brother requires more training."

Brightpaw followed Bluestar's gaze toward Foxshadow. Foxshadow's own gaze was on Swiftpaw, who had also followed Bluestar's gaze and was not glaring back angrily.

"He needs to learn respect," Foxshadow meowed, holding Swiftpaw's glare with one of her own before looking at Brightpaw, "and we need more warriors like you, Brightpaw. Don't delay your ceremony for your brother."

When Brightpaw glanced around, Foxshadow was suddenly aware of the rest of the Clan listening to her speech. Had she just forced Brightpaw to decide to become a warrior through peer pressure? Foxshadow winced and cursed herself for her tactlessness.

Brightpaw was staring at the ground before she raised her head, ears flat. "I do," she meowed at last.

Foxshadow felt a sudden wave of relief. Now Swiftpaw's stupidity wouldn't lead to his sister losing half her face when the dogs came to live in the forest. She almost purred.

Bluestar nodded. "A wise choice," she murmured so only those closest to the High Rock could hear. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Brightpaw, from this moment you will be known as Brightface. StarClan honors your bright smile and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

" _Brightface! Brightface! Brightface!_ "

Foxshadow was surprised that Brightface wasn't being called Brightheart, but then reminded herself that Bluestar was the same cat who named her Lostface and that Fireheart had been the one to name her Brightheart. Of course the name would be different. At least it was better than either Foxface or Lostface. In fact, it reminded her of Brindleface's name.

Foxshadow purred lowly and looked around curiously for her apprentice. He was sitting next to Swiftpaw, his ears flat and head bowed in guilt. Foxshadow looked accusingly at Swiftpaw and knew from his ugly, furious expression that he was to blame. Foxshadow couldn't help a curl of satisfaction in her stomach at seeing it.

 _You deserve this, Swiftpaw.  
_

"There is another announcement to make," meowed Bluestar. "Yellowfang has received a vision from StarClan about who her next apprentice should be." Bluestar looked expectantly towards the medicine cat den.

 _So this is why she didn't announce anything right away_ , Foxshadow thought, glancing towards the medicine cat entrance as Yellowfang emerged and walked towards the High Rock. Yellowfang jumped up onto the shorter rock right next to Bluestar's, allowing her to gaze out over the heads of the ThunderClan cats. Her flinty gaze turned towards the nursery, where Mistlekit watched expectantly.

"StarClan has decided that Mistlekit become the next medicine cat apprentice," rasped Yellowfang. A murmur rippled through the Clan but Yellowfang quickly silenced their concerns with an a curl of her lip and a growl. "Yes, I know she is only five-and-a-half moons old, but she is more than ready to be made an apprentice in the eyes of StarClan."

"Mistlekit," meowed Bluestar, gesturing with her tail. "From this moment until you become a full medicine cat, you will be known as Mistlepaw. May you walk with StarClan after the next halfmoon."

 _Which is only a quarter moon away,_ Foxshadow thought. She had never realized until after she had become a member of ThunderClan that there two halfmoons between each full moon. She raised her voice and joined the mews of the other ThunderClan cats.

" _Mistlepaw!_ _Mistlepaw!_ _ _Mistlepaw!"__

The noise died down and the Clan cats disbursed. Foxshadow looked around expectantly for Dustpelt but then remembered that he was still at Sunningrocks. Slightly crestfallen at this, she turned away and made to return to her old nest in the prisoner's den.

"Foxshadow?"

Foxshadow looked towards the medicine cat den where Runningwind was seated, looking dejected. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Runningwind," she meowed, padded quickly over.

"I would like you train Swiftpaw," meowed Runningwind. "I think it might help him to respect you more if he got to know you better."

Foxshadow stared at him in surprise. "You want me to train him personally?"

"Yes," meowed Runningwind. "And I can take Brackenpaw for a day or two if you need me to."

"We have never trained our apprentices together," meowed Foxshadow thoughtfully, silently adding, _Mostly because our apprentices are not even close to the same skill level_. "I think that would be a great idea once I've healed."

Runningwind looked relieved and grateful. "That's great."

Foxshadow nodded and paused. "You don't mind if I invite Ravenfeather? He needs a confidence boost after the battle and I think helping to train the apprentices would be great for him."

Runningwind nodded. "Of course. I'm sure he has much to teach the apprentices since he helped you beat that fox."

"Of course," she meowed. _Plus_ , _Swiftpaw will respect him more than me._ She dipped her head and entered the prisoner's den, before curling up to sleep.

* * *

It was a halfmoon before Foxshadow was fully healed from the battle. She woke up in the prisoner's den to find an unfamiliar scent in the den and realized that Dustpelt was already gone for the dawn patrol. She blinked awake and stared into the odd-eyes of Mistlepaw.

"Morning, Foxface!" she meowed cheerfully.

"It's Foxshadow now," meowed ex-twoleg, staring hard at Mistlepaw. "Unless you're saying that that is going to my name in StarClan."

Mistlepaw shrugged. "Could be," she meowed, shuffling her paws uncomfortably and looking away. "Raggedstar said you could be a leader one day."

"I'm not going to be leader," Foxshadow said quickly. "Maybe deputy but not the leader."

"Okay," meowed Mistlepaw, before perking up. "Goosefeather said that your paw should be fine since you stayed off it. He's impressed you managed to do it. Most warriors don't listen to their medicine cats." She looked at her curiously. "You _really_ are weird."

Foxshadow purred. "I'm not surprised. Warriors prefer to be out their defending the Clan rather than spending it in a nest." She lowered her voice, as if telling Mistlepaw a secret. "Then again, they usually don't have mates."

Mistlepaw's unchanging expression told Foxshadow that she hadn't understood the innuendo. She couldn't help a loud purr at that but it died a second later. Foxshadow realized that Mistlepaw would never be able to experience that part of life. She suddenly felt bad about bringing it up.

"Mistlepaw," Foxshadow meowed, "can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Foxface," meowed Mistlepaw, stubbornly sticking to her old name as she peeled off the poultice.

Foxshadow flicked her ears but decided not to comment on it. She kind of deserved it. "Can you tell me how many lives Bluestar has left?"

Mistlepaw shook her head. "Nope."

"Why?" Foxshadow asked, curious.

"Because I don't know how many lives she has left," Mistlepaw meowed. "StarClan hasn't told me anything about that yet. I am not ready to know."

Foxshadow sighed. _That's a bust_. "Okay, then maybe you can tell me how many StarClan cats hang around Bluestar?"

Mistlepaw looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Foxshadow opened her mouth, stopped herself and decided to come at this from a different angle. "You know how Raggedstar told you that I couldn't see him despite him standing right next to me?"

Mistlepaw nodded. "Yeah, of course I do. I told you that you'd help him kill the face of darkness."

Foxshadow nodded. "Right, so I wanted to ask you if you could tell the difference between cats like Goosefeather and cats like me. Do you know who is here and who is in StarClan?"

The white she-cat sat down and stared at Foxshadow hard. Her ear twitched and Foxshadow guessed that was the ear that was listening to Goosefeather. "I think so? It's hard to tell sometimes."

Foxshadow frowned. "Maybe it's easier than you think," Foxshadow meowed. "Maybe I can help you. If you humor me."

Mistlepaw looked uncertain, and her ear twitched again. "Okay."

"I want you to close or cover your right eye," meowed Foxshadow. "Then tell me who is with you, me or Goosefeather."

"Okay." Mistlepaw lifted a paw and put it over her right eye. She looked around the den with her left eye. "Just you."

"Can you still hear Goosefeather when he talks to you?"

"Uhm, Goosefeather?" Mistlepaw's ear twitched. "Yeah, I can hear him."

"Okay," meowed Foxshadow. "Switch eyes, please."

"Okay." Mistlepaw lifted her other paw. "I can see only him now."

Foxshadow hummed to herself. "Interesting. This means that your right ear can hear StarClan cats and your right eye can see them, while your other eye sees me and the cat that are alive in ThunderClan."

Mistlepaw looked very unsettled. "Okay."

"Now, I want you to tell me how many StarClan cats you can see around Bluestar. Can you do that for me?"

Mistlepaw looked uncertain. "Okay."

The small apprentice padded towards the entrance and looked out over the camp towards where Bluestar sat underneath the High Rock, right next to Tigerclaw. Foxshadow wondered if she could see any Dark Forest cats that might be hanging around. She suspected that Mapleshade would be here, watching to make sure Tigerclaw did as he was told.

"I see three StarClan cats around Bluestar," meowed Mistlepaw, frowning.

"So that means she has around three lives."

Mistlepaw was startled and looked up at Foxshadow. "You think so?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "What does Goosefeather say?"

Mistlepaw's ear flicked and she looked amazed and then uncertain. "He says I'm not allowed to tell you that."

"So, he confirmed it," meowed Foxshadow.

"No, he didn't," Mistlepaw meowed defensively, looking nervously around.

"Remind me to teach you how to control your expressions," Foxshadow meowed with a purr. "Are there any strange and unfriendly dead cats hanging around Tigerclaw?"

Mistlepaw looked like she wanted to protest but seemed to relent with a tentative shrug. "I don't know."

"You didn't even look," Foxshadow pointed out.

Mistlepaw glanced out the entrance, her ear flicking. "Okay, I looked."

Foxshadow couldn't help a loud purr. "You'll make a good medicine cat one day." She turned away and put her healed paw down, testing it. "But I promise you can trust me, no matter what Goosefeather tells you. Just remember, sometimes keeping things like this a secret can save your leader's life, especially when it comes to cats as ambitious as Tigerclaw. He'd kill to know how many lives Bluestar left."

Mistlepaw watched wide-eyed as Foxshadow padded out of the prisoner's den and returned to daily Clan life. The young medicine cat apprentice looked back at her mentor and Raggedstar, her tail-tip twitching worriedly and ears flat.

"I'm sorry. I gave it away."

Raggedstar purred. "It's okay, Mistlepaw. Foxshadow is the exception to the rule."

Goosefeather disagreed. "You can't treat _anyone_ like they're the exception to that rule. No one is supposed to know how many lives their leader has unless their leader tells them personally. If Bluestar wanted her to know, she would have told her directly."

Raggedstar gave him a half-sneer, half-smile. "Foxshadow is the exception to the rule, Goosefeather, whether you like it or not. She needed to know."

Goosefeather glared at him stubbornly. "Mistlepaw should not have been the one to tell her. You can't keep bending and breaking the rules Raggedstar... It's no wonder your son turned out so badly."

Raggedstar bristled and hissed. "I have paid my dues when it comes to my son. I saved my Clan from him, even when the rest of StarClan turned their back on them." He stood up and stormed out, tail bushed.

"You should have let her die on WindClan territory," hissed Goosefeather.

"I have very little control over when or where she dies," meowed Raggedstar firmly. "My job is to prevent cats like you and Mapleshade from forcing her to join the Dark Forest or StarClan before it is their time."

"When you aren't using her to fix your problems," growled Goosefeather.

Raggedstar ignored him and dipped his head towards Mistlepaw. "Good evening, Mistlepaw, and thank you for everything."

The medicine cat watched in confusion as Raggedstar's ghost followed after Foxshadow.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted her to be called Brightface because of two reasons, one is that it's Bluestar giving her the name and not Fireheart, and two because there way too many Hearts in the Clan as is. She's named after Brindleface for those of you who are curious.  
**

 **So, this weekend is Fall Break so I might update one chapter Monday and Tuesday if I'm not too busy.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	33. Forest of Secrets pt 6

**A/N: We have 10 reviews this chapter! Woohoo! Thank you guys so much!** **Also, NightmareTheFoxWitch posted another fanart! It's so precious! You can find her on dA as SnapdragonKiwi! For url savvy reviewers, you can add /art/Raggedstar-is-by-you-709857111 to the end of deviantart's main domain url to get there. If you guys can't find it, just send me a PM and I'll send you a link!**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Most everyone loves Mistlepaw's cute adorable innocence. I'm so glad!  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: OMG IT'S PERFECT THANKYOU SO MUCH!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Hope you like this chapter friend. (A) Exactly! Also, there's more of a wake up call this chapter and a lot of Foxshadow helping fellow cats like Swi and Run. (B) Foxshadow's assessent is on the nose, except she's missing a very important piece of information. Tigerclaw is very sure that he can make her his deputy... why is he so convinced of this? Is she predictable? Questions, questions, questions and little answers. xP (C) Brightface is... Brightface. (D) Brackenpaw is guilty by association... It happens more in real life than you'd think. (E) That he is... more this chapter on Run. (F) I'm so glad most everyone likes Mistlepaw! I know there's probably some out there who think she's too cute but at least she's being well received by most of you since she's most likely going to be the future medicine cat. Most likely. You know, because anyone can die... (G) They disagree on how to deal with Foxshadow and how she should be treated. Goosefeather doesn't think she should be treated like she's special and Raggedstar doesn't think she should be treated like she's a regular cat. They are both right in many respects but because Raggedstar's been assigned to her, he gets the final say on the matter. (H) Raggedstar... hm. It's hard to put into words. He and she were on the same page about Brokenstar and he continues to feel connected to her. How he views her... I honestly don't know how to describe it. I'll figure that out later, maybe.  
**

 **sierra_stanley_52: Mistlepaw is so precious and I think any cat who meets her is going to adopt her, unless they are Tigerclaw. I'm so glad you like her!  
**

 **S1L3NT: Yup, it has! I actually addressed that concern after their apprentice ceremonies back in chapter 5. You can see my explanation at the end of that chapter! Basically, when it comes down to genetics (and how the cats behaved in canon), it makes more sense for Swiftpaw and Brightface to be brother and sister than otherwise. Plus, whatever romance between the two in canon is no irrelevant and allows Brightface's canon pairing not to be interfered with in my story. I'm sneaky like that. I like that you're thinking along those lines... but Foxshadow has no intention of leaving for ShadowClan. SkyClan, yes, but not ShadowClan, though her heart belongs there. Probably another reason why Raggedstar is hanging around her... lol. Good guess though!  
**

 **YumiKnowsBest: I'm so glad you brought up the alternate POVs because I'm planning on having a second point of view for Rising Storm.  
**

 **Featherfrost of StormClan: Nah. Writing trollfics is against the rules here on FFnet and it could cause me to be banned for my story to be taken down. Which is a shame because I think I'd enjoy it.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: I'm glad it's not detracting from the story. It just makes it easier for me if I don't have to write them differently every few sentences. With fight scenes, writing only with names can make the action scenes faster and give them more punch.  
**

 **Rip my sleep: Glad you love my story! Thank you so much! Have a cookie and take a nap! XD  
**

 **lemon: Glad to hear it! Thanks for pointing that out. I've fixed it now. I was actually thinking of that when I first wrote it down (I wrote it down correctly the first time) and because I was kind of really tired, my brain flipped the words and I was like, "No, I spelled it wrong. It's not angle it's angel." Lo, an unnecessary "correction" was made, lol.  
**

* * *

The forest around the Sandy Hollow was still and quiet when Foxshadow's party arrived. Foxshadow directed everyone to the center, pausing when Swiftpaw made to stay up at the top of the slopes and just glare down at them. She decided to dismiss him from her thoughts. He'd join them when he started to feel left out of their training.

She glanced over the cats. They were all here to improve upon something; Ravenfeather's confidence, Swiftpaw's respect towards his fellow warriors and Runningwind's confidence in his ability to be a mentor. She knew that it would take more than one training session to truly make them all better, but today she would be laying down the foundation for future training. Of course, Brackenpaw also needed to improve his battle reflexes but right now he was her lowest priority and she promised herself she'd make it up to him later.

"Runningwind, Brackenpaw, you'll be sparing together other there," meowed Foxshadow. "I want to see how you two fight together. Don't hold anything back, Runningwind. Brackenpaw, don't feel bad if you misstep or freeze up and just focus on defeating your opponent."

"You're putting Brackenpaw up against Runningwind?" Swiftpaw sneered, looking down on Brackenpaw.

Foxshadow ignored him. "Ravenfeather," she meowed, and gestured discretely with her tail towards Swiftpaw as if directing a patrol to attack. "Show us how you dealt with that fox."

Ravenfeather looked momentarily confused, frowning to himself as he looked at Foxshadow. He studied her for a few seconds and she gave him an encouraging nod. "Okay," he meowed.

Swiftpaw let out a yelp when Ravenfeather unexpectedly slammed into his side and knocked him over, winded.

"Pin him," meowed Foxshadow.

Ravenfeather quickly pinned the stunned apprentice before Swiftpaw could recover.

The apprentice's tail twitched angrily and he glared up at Ravenfeather, hissing, "That wasn't fair."

"No battle is _ever_ going to be _fair_ , Swiftpaw," meowed Foxshadow firmly with a dismissive ear flick. She turned her attention to Ravenfeather. "Ravenfeather, I want you to act like this is a real battle and do everything in your power to win. Don't hesitate and don't try to treat Swiftpaw like he's fragile or weaker than you. In this scenario, he's that fox you fought when you were still an apprentice. If Swiftpaw can't keep up with you, then that's his fault. Now, give him a couple of heartbeats to recover."

Ravenfeather stepped off, his brow furrowed in concentration as he looked down at Swiftpaw. The black and white apprentice rose to his paws, spitting and glaring between Ravenfeather and Foxshadow.

"Is there a problem, Swiftpaw?" Foxshadow asked innocently.

Swiftpaw hissed and spit at her. "This is unfair. He's fought a fox and I haven't. He's-"

Foxshadow waved her tail and Ravenfeather struck, pinning Swiftpaw once more.

"If I've told you once then I've told you a thousand times. No battle is ever going to be fair." Foxshadow twitched her ears angrily. "Keep your focus on the battle in front of you and you might actually win."

The older apprentice yowled angrily at the deception and thrashed underneath Ravenfeather, but the black tom had him expertly pinned. With an angry growl, Swiftpaw became still in defeat. Ravenfeather paused before finally getting off, backing away to give Swiftpaw room. Swiftpaw immediately sprang up and charged at Ravenfeather, but the black tom dodged sideways and swiped out at Swiftpaw's forepaws, sending the apprentice sprawling. A heartbeat later, Ravenfeather was on top and pinning him again.

"Get your anger under control," hissed Foxshadow, gesturing for Ravenfeather to get off. "You're never going to be a warrior if you let your anger get the better of you. Do you want the enemy to use that to their advantage? Do you want Bluestar to keep delaying your apprenticeship because you can't learn to keep your mouth shut and be respectful to your Clanmates?"

Swiftpaw snarled, rising to his paws wearily. "Those aren't the same thing."

"They are, Swiftpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "Why do you think I told Bluestar I didn't think you were ready to be made an apprentice? Did you really think I was going to forget how you've been treating me, your mentor and my apprentice?"

Swiftpaw gaped at her and Ravenfeather glanced at her, surprised. Foxshadow gestured for him to attack and Ravenfeather's attention immediately snapped back toward Swiftpaw and he lunged. Swiftpaw yowled as he found himself on the ground again, pinned under the sleek black tom. Ravenfeather's face was hard and stony, and Foxshadow realized he was barely keeping his own anger in check.

"That's enough, Ravenfeather," meowed Foxshadow. "It's obvious that the apprentice needs a lot more training in how to fight properly than I previously thought. He will not be able to catch up to you." She turned away and padded towards a more open area of the Sandy Hollow. "Ravenfeather, we can spar over here."

The black tom hesitated, before letting Swiftpaw go and trotting over to Foxshadow, his tail-tip twitching angrily.

"I had no idea that he was treating Brackenpaw badly," murmured Ravenfeather quietly.

"Only because he doesn't like me," Foxshadow murmured back. She raised her voice. "Fight me like I'm a fox."

Foxshadow's body shifted into a more fox-like stance, her head down and mouth open to reveal her teeth and ears perked forward. She watched Ravenfeather carefully as the tom wearily padded around her, shoulders twitching. She mimicked a fox, half-bouncing as she turned to keep her teeth between herself and Ravenfeather. Ravenfeather realized what she was doing quickly and darted in, his paws struggling to grab at her own forepaws. She bounced backwards and then lunged forward with her mouth wide-open. Ravenfeather reared and her teeth snapped at air. He slammed his paws down hard on her head and she jerked backwards, shaking her head ruefully. A heartbeat later, she felt Ravenfeather land on her back, digging in with his claws and pushing down on her shoulder. She immediately rolled, slamming Ravenfeather into the ground and rolling over him, winding him. She pinned him a heartbeat later, resting her teeth against his neck. He froze and she got off.

"Nice try, Ravenfeather," meowed Foxshadow. "But you were still treating me like a cat."

"Sorry," meowed Ravenfeather, shaking the sand out of his fur. "You were fighting like a real fox, Foxshadow. I knew you were a cat, though, and thought I could use that to my advantage."

Foxshadow started and let out a loud purr. "Oh, so you were trying to defeat _me_ instead of trying to defeat a fox."

Ravenfeather looked sheepish. "Yeah, I was."

Foxshadow glanced at Swiftpaw, wondering if he had seen all of that. The apprentice was grooming himself, but Foxshadow didn't think he would have missed the fight. It was, after all, the first time she and Ravenfeather had demonstrated how to defeat a fox and there was no cat in ThunderClan who wanted to learn to do that more than Swiftpaw. Of course, he had been paying attention. She hoped.

"Let's try again," she meowed. "Remember that you're trying to fight a big dog-fox. You do remember how I defeated one, don't you?"

Ravenfeather frowned in concentration and nodded. "I think so."

"Good," meowed Foxshadow. "Remember to use your teeth."

The black tom nodded and then tensed, ready to spring. Foxshadow could see his focus on her mouth now, and she couldn't help a small purr as she tensed in preparation to dodge. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Swiftpaw stop grooming and stare at them.

Ravenfeather lunged and Foxshadow cursed herself for getting distracted as she bolted right. She felt Ravenfeather's paw hook out and catch her forepaw, and she adjusted, her legs collapsing as she rolled away. She sprang onto her paws, mouth open and teeth showing in a snarl. However, she couldn't see Ravenfeather anywhere. A sharp yowl behind her made her jump and she twisted around, only for Ravenfeather to mouth her muzzle. All she could see was his white teeth in one eye and the forest in the other. Foxshadow couldn't help a purr as she remembered how the fox had become submissive to her at this point and slowly sank to the ground. After a heartbeat, Ravenfeather released her and stepped back, glancing over her face in concern.

"Well done," meowed Foxshadow, licking her muzzle where he'd mouthed her. "You're able to face a fox on your own now."

Ravenfeather let out a purr and glanced away, towards Swiftpaw. Foxshadow followed his gaze and was pleased to see Swiftpaw gaping at them. Gesturing with her tail for Ravenfeather to follow, Foxshadow padded towards the stunned apprentice.

"Now that you've seen a few fighting moves for yourself, it's time that you tried them out," meowed Foxshadow. "In this scenario, you are going to fight Ravenfeather as if he was a dog-fox."

Swiftpaw nodded and eagerly got to his paws, looking at Ravenfeather in a new light. Foxshadow was pleased to see him treating Ravenfeather like a worthy opponent. She knew from the way Ravenfeather straightened with pride that the black tom had seen it as well. She smiled secretively to herself.

 _Two down, one to go..._

"Don't wait on my account," purred Foxshadow. "I'm going to check on Runningwind's training."

If they noticed her odd wording, they didn't mention it. Swiftpaw was preparing to attack Ravenfeather, his entire focus on the once-nervous black tom. Ravenfeather's expression was stony, his mouth open in a fox-like snarl. Foxshadow put them at the back of her mind as she turned to study Runningwind and Brackenpaw's training. Her heart sank at the sight.

Runningwind was waiting patiently for Brackenpaw to attack him. From the way his tail-tip twitched and his ears moved, she knew he was playing. She did not think this was a good sign. Brackenpaw had his eyes focused on Runningwind's paws, concentrating hard on a way to knock the cat off his feet. Foxshadow knew Brackenpaw was projecting this was goal when he really had something else in mind, and Foxshadow was unhappy that Runningwind was treating her apprentice as if he was still a kit. Had Runningwind mistaken Brackenpaw's inexperience as ineptitude?

Foxshadow watched in discomfort as Brackenpaw darted across the Sandy Hollow. Runningwind waited a second too long for Foxshadow's tastes before reacting. Her expression widened in shock.

Runningwind exploded forward. For one second Brackenpaw was feinting for his feet and in the next Runningwind was halfway across the Sandy Hollow, safely out of his way. The silvered brown tom had leaped over Brackenpaw, landed expertly on all fours, and raced across the Sandy Hollow in a few heartbeats. He sat down, taunting Brackenpaw, who growled in frustration.

There were so many problems with this training tactic. It frustrated Brackenpaw to now end, for sure, and it mocked him at the same time. Foxshadow didn't like it one bit, especially because Runningwind was treating it like a game.

"Nice try, Brackenpaw," Runningwind meowed, purring. "Try again."

Brackenpaw flicked his ear subtly at Foxshadow, a silent sign that he had noticed her presence. Runningwind was too far away to notice and she knew right away that Brackenpaw was listening to her, even though the rest of his focus was on Runningwind.

"Keep trying, Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow, keeping her voice neutral. She glanced at Runningwind, who seemed pleased for some reason. Foxshadow didn't like that. She lowered her voice. "Anticipate and intercept. Try and herd him towards me."

Brackenpaw gave a tiny nod, his focus once again on Runningwind's paws, and Foxshadow felt a rush of pride at her apprentice for not giving away his motives. She wished she had been around from the beginning so she could figure out if Brackenpaw had already started doing that. Telling him something he already knew would only make him frustrated when the plan failed. Runningwind's attitude wasn't helping.

The pale brown apprentice slunk to the ground and stalked forward, as if chasing after a rabbit. Foxshadow frowned to herself, reminding herself that she had spent much of two moons just teaching him how to hunt and so his first instincts would be to hunt instead of properly fight. She kept her thoughts to herself and watched Runningwind's expression. The cat was very amused. Foxshadow realized why. It was the expression of someone thinking, "I'm not a rabbit, silly apprentice."

 _Why haven't you told him this?_ thought Foxshadow, frustrated. Brackenpaw definitely wouldn't keep trying the same tactic if he thought it wouldn't work. Because Runningwind wasn't saying anything, Brackenpaw thought he was doing alright... only to lead to more frustration.

Brackenpaw feinted left and Runningwind dance right, amused. Brackenpaw kept feinting at him, trying to swipe at Runningwind's paws and get an edge over his opponent. Runningwind danced laughingly out of his reach, unaware that he was being herded towards Foxshadow. Suddenly, Brackenpaw stopped herding him and with a frustrated frown sat down, for all appearances giving up. Runningwind's tail twitched in confusion, but the amusement didn't fade.

"Given up already?"

WHUMP!

Runningwind yelped as he suddenly found himself pinned underneath Foxshadow. Brackenpaw's pelt rippled in pride and he looked expectantly at Foxshadow. The massive she-cat couldn't help but nod in approval.

"Well done," she meowed, keeping Runningwind pinned underneath, "but you should know better than to _hunt_ Runningwind like a rabbit."

Brackenpaw's eyes widened in realization and he looked down at Runningwind, frowning.

"Brackenpaw, can you tell me what Runningwind failed to do?"

"He never told me I was doing anything wrong," meowed Brackenpaw.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "but you should have known better than to hunt a cat as if they were prey."

Brackenpaw grimaced and dipped his head. "Sorry."

Foxshadow nodded. "Can you tell me anything else Runningwind did wrong?"

"He wasn't paying attention to anyone outside of the battle," meowed Brackenpaw.

"If that was what it was," meowed Foxshadow. "Yes. Runningwind, you should have been paying attention to your surroundings."

Runningwind wiggled underneath her. "Sorry. I'll try better next time. Can you let me up now?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow. "What else did Runningwind do wrong?"

Brackenpaw was silent, staring at Runningwind in concentration and trying to recall the whole battle. He looked up at Foxshadow, brows furrowed in confusion and probably expecting an explanation.

"Well?" asked Foxshadow.

"He was... showing off?" Brackenpaw guessed.

"Exactly," meowed Foxshadow, finally releasing Runningwind and stepped towards Brackenpaw. "Runningwind was showing off instead of acting like a mentor should."

The silvered brown tabby stood up, head ducked down in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"An apprentice is not there for you to show up," meowed Foxshadow, dropping into a lecture. "You are there to teach them to become stronger, smarter and better at the skills you have already mastered. You cannot do this without communicating to them where they went wrong and you can't do this by constantly running away from them. Right, Brackenpaw?"

The pale brown tabby nodded. "Yes, Foxshadow."

Runningwind looked between them both and slumped, flattening his ears. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." He trailed off, speechless.

Foxshadow glanced at Brackenpaw. "You're lack of communication is only one of three problems you have. You need to be aware of how frustrated your apprentice is getting and you need to be willing to change your tactics for their benefit. Start easy and then work it into the really hard stuff." Foxshadow paused and licked her chest. "The third problem with your mentoring method is your lack of willingness to attack. Brackenpaw is smart but he's not as fast as you. If you keep running away and force him to keep chasing you, he will never beat you. He'll be chasing you around the Sandy Hollow like you're a frightened rabbit and neither of your will gain anything. In order to give Brackenpaw a chance at winning, you have to attack him."

"But," meowed Runningwind, suddenly horrified. "What if I hurt him?"

Foxshadow suddenly realized why Runningwind was never given an apprentice in canon. He was too soft. "If you aren't willing to hurt him a little bit now, you're going to be to blame if your apprentice is made a warrior and can't even defend himself in a battle." Foxshadow knew from Runningwind's expression she didn't have to tell him that Brackenpaw or Swiftpaw would be dead due to his terrible training methods.

"You will do this once more and this time you will communicate, attack, and adjust your tactics according to what Brackenpaw needs to improve on," meowed Foxshadow.

Runningwind dipped his head and padded a little ways away. Foxshadow murmured to Brackenpaw. "If he starts acting like a playful rabbit again, just herd him towards me, okay?"

Brackenpaw looked relieved and nodded with a purr. "Yes, sir. Thank you, Foxshadow."

Foxshadow purred and swiped her tail over his nose. "Get a move on, smarty-tail."

Runningwind looked slightly unsure of himself as Brackenpaw squared off against him a few tail-lengths away. This time, Brackenpaw didn't both to focus on Runningwind's paws, instead darting forward with renewed energy. Runningwind leaped sideways, but leaped too high and too far to recover quickly enough to dodge the oncoming paw sweep. With a yelp, he landed on his side and Brackenpaw pinned him.

"Well done!" meowed Foxshadow with a purr. "Both of you."

As Brackenpaw stepped off, Runningwind looked around with a frown. "As you sure about this, Foxshadow?"

"Positive," meowed Foxshadow. "You already feel better about this training, don't you, Brackenpaw?"

Brackenpaw nodded, whiskers perked up in pleasure. "I feel like I can actually win now."

"It no longer feels impossible for Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow, "and that is the important thing."

Runningwind nodded, still unsure and rose to his paws. "Can we go again?"

"Sure," meowed Foxshadow. "Try a little hard not to get your paws swept out from under you, okay?"

The silvered tom nodded, and Foxshadow gave them space. Brackenpaw was once again focused on Runningwind's paws, and Runningwind studied the apprentice carefully, his own gaze focused. Runningwind darted forward forward first, hesitated before landing a blow on Brackenpaw's shoulder. The apprentice staggered under the soft blow and crouched, lunging forward into Runningwind's side. Runningwind rolled away and quickly jumped to his paws, dodging a blow for his side and dancing around Brackenpaw.

 _Please don't start now_ , Foxshadow thought, tensing and lashing her tail.

Brackenpaw noticed the tactic and adjusted, turning quickly in the opposite direction. Runningwind was surprised to find himself face-to-face with Brackenpaw, and the young apprentice took advantage of the surprise to sweep Runningwind's forepaws out from under him and sink his teeth into Runningwind's scruff. Runningwind realized he was defeated and relaxed.

"Well done!" Foxshadow meowed, relieved. "Great thinking Brackenpaw. Runningwind certainly wasn't expecting it."

Runningwind looked at Brackenpaw with surprise and respect in his gaze. "You've trained well."

Brackenpaw paw purred.

"And you need more training," meowed Foxshadow playfully to Runningwind. "Don't hold back against Brackenpaw. You should have knocked him down when you hit him." She looked between the two of them, glad to see Brackenpaw's tail lashing in excitement. "How about you two have a few more practice rounds?"

"Sure!" meowed Brackenpaw.

Runningwind smiled. "You're a better warrior than I thought, Foxshadow! You'll make a great deputy one day."

Foxshadow dipped her head, suddenly reminded of Tigerclaw's words. The humor and joy from seeing them improve had vanished in a heartbeat and she quickly tried to summon it back before Brackenpaw and Runningwind could see her discomfort on her face. However, they were already focused back on each other, oblivious.

She padded away and turned back to see them square off against each other. Runningwind attacked again, this time striking Brackenpaw's side harder. Brackenpaw rolled backwards and into a crouching, sweeping his tail around to figure out where Runningwind while also twisting to avoid a potential blow. Runningwind jumped away from the seeking tail and landed on Brackenpaw, pinning him. Brackenpaw and Runningwind froze before they both stand up.

"Very good," meowed Runningwind, eyes flashing in excitement. "That was a neat tail trick."

Brackenpaw nodded and Runningwind hesitated, at a loss as to what to say. He glanced up towards Foxshadow, but Foxshadow kept her expression neutral and just watched. Finally, he meowed, "Maybe... you shouldn't have rolled?"

Runningwind's gaze darted to Foxshadow, but she gave nothing away.

Brackenpaw also glanced at Foxshadow and seemed to realized that he was expected to listen to Runningwind. He thought over his strategy. "Okay. Can you attack me like that again?"

Runningwind relaxed, relieved and darted forward to attack. Brackenpaw dodged sideways to avoid the blow and Runningwind's paw passed harmlessly over his fur-tips. Runningwind purred loudly and Brackenpaw's quieter purr answer him. In a seconds, the two were lost in a dance of paws swipes, sweeps and nips. Foxshadow relaxed, pleased that they were progressing so well. Her thoughts traveled back to what Runningwind had said.

With Brackenpaw's training not even close to being properly finished and Tigerclaw obviously interested in making her deputy as soon as possible, Foxshadow knew it was recipe for disaster. If Tigerclaw was killed or exiled before Brackenpaw was made an warrior, Foxshadow wouldn't be ready to take over the position and then later step down when Fireheart was ready. She needed to wait before she got rid of Tigerclaw. Fireheart needed an apprentice.

Her thoughts drifted to the only available cat in canon that could come to mind. After Swiftpaw's training was over with and he was a warrior, which could be any time after the Gathering in a few days, Foxshadow was going to go looking for this cat's mother at the border with the twolegplace.

* * *

 **A/N: Males foxes are known as dog-foxes. Female foxes are known as vixens.**

 **Also, 3.7k words of this chapter is actual story. lol.**

 **Hope you guys are loving this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	34. Forest of Secrets pt 7

**A/N: 12 reviews!? No way! I love each and everyone! 3 Also, we we have two 'Guests'. I hope you guys can figure out who I'm talking to by the context clues. Also, for those of you curious as to how many books I plan to write for this series, which I am calling Legacy Saga, I have updated the profile with names, summaries and a few details about the books.  
**

 **Guest(1): The rare and elusive Sunday chapters! Oh, I wish I could write them all the time. College sucks... It's good to hear you're loving them! I try to give all the characters some screen time no matter if they are a background character or not. I want the Clan to feel as alive as possible and giving background characters some behind the scenes plot or another to do on their own and just hint at it is really fun. And I'm so glad you love Brackenpaw, Foxshadow and Ravenfeather, though I'm curious as to why. I can't shake the feeling that you might only like those two because they treat Foxshadow well.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: DUSTSHADOW KITTIES! Yus.  
**

 **YumiKnowsBest: Here you go; another chapter! Just what the medicine cat ordered!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Oooh, maybe she does remind him of someone. That's a nice theory and I like it and I wish I came up with it first. (F) Sorry, you're going to have to speak up. *grins wickedly* ...or maybe I'm just trolling you... (1) Oh, Swiftpaw's attitude is 100% his fault. He could have not let it get to him, but pride and all that. Sure, he has justification for it but that doesn't excuse his behavior. He could at least feel a little guilty about what might be a subconscious thing, but nope. It's totally a conscious dislike of Foxshadow and I love him dearly for it. (2) Ravenfeather's loyalty to Foxshadow is shining through a bit there, yes. (3) Runningwind... I could write a book on why he's unsuited to mentor anybody. Lucky for us, Foxshadow's here to fix him up. (4) Maybe Cloudkit will appear, maybe Cloudpaw. Who knows at this point? :P  
**

 **sierra_stanley_52: Oh, the prisoner's den and the medicine cat den are two separate dens. Foxshadow can't breathe in the medicine cat den due to allergies so she sleeps in the prisoner's den whenever she's injured instead.  
**

 **Guest(2): This is my new favorite review. I love it so much! Thank you! Domo arigato! Merci beaucoup! Also, you are not the first person to mention the repetition thing and I think I'm starting to understand where you guys are coming from. I'll try not to do that in the future. And no, I don't have an editor and I'm too lazy to go back and edit the story myself most of the time. I'm glad you're enjoying the story regardless and I promise I will try to at least give the story a cursory reading over before posting so I can avoid doing that in the future. Thanks again for your review and your praise!  
**

 **Meow: I've watched the entire first two season of digimon before a long time ago but I've never gotten that invested in the fandom. I promise I'll give it a try though it looks like a large fic. Really massive fanfics like that can be kinda intimidating to me as I usually don't have the time to binge read like I really want to and when I start and come back to it, I usually have no idea where I was or what was going on. Thanks for the recommendation though! I'll put it down to read during Christmas Break.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: I am planning to continue into the next arc, a couple of Special Editions, Omen of the Stars and The Power of Three. I updated my profile with basic summaries, characters, pairings and ratings of each one if you want to take a look! I'm calling this "The Legacy Saga".  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: Foxshadow has never had a role model in her household when she was human. She had to be the mediator between her parents and between all her friends, so this kind of problem solving comes naturally to her.**

 **Skyfeet: Thank you so much! I'm glad I'm improving on the characterization! Thank you so much for the compliments!  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Thank you! I feel like a lot of characters in the series needed to have real reasons as to why they never got apprentices, especially Runningwind since he was _Bluestar's apprentice_ and the leaders tend to make their own apprentices deputies and leaders after them. Kinda makes you wonder how bad Runningwind's mentoring skills is in canon and what might have happened had no one helped him out like Foxshadow did. Maybe he had his apprentice taken away from him or something. Who knows?  
**

 **darkmoon0023: Nah, but you would make it a tie. Unfortunately, I'm writing FirestarXSandstorm, sorry. But Cinderpaw's going to get a good mate, too, just you wait!  
**

* * *

The sun had risen high into the sky and many days had passed since they had started training and the Gathering was two days away. Foxshadow knew Swiftpaw would not get his warrior name to take with him to the Gathering if he didn't have a chance to prove himself today. She licked her paw nervously and swiped it over her face. It was now or never.

Raising her head and voice, she meowed. "That's enough. Runningwind, Swiftpaw, it's time to see how well you've improved. You are going to spar with each other."

Leaf-fall had finally arrived, stripping the trees and covering the ground in dappled red, yellow and orange leaves. The clearing was unusually bright with the cold rays of the sun, and she shivered as the skeletal branches clicked hollowly against each other. She wondered when Halloween was coming.

Brackenpaw raced up to Foxshadow's side. "Does this mean we can train now?" he asked, hopefully.

"I need to watch them," meowed Foxshadow, wincing at his disappointed expression. "We can train tomorrow."

"Okay," he meowed, frowning.

Foxshadow put her tail comforting on his shoulder. "Don't worry," she meowed, "I won't let your warrior ceremony be delayed because of this. You're a good apprentice and you're going to be a great warrior. Just don't do anything stupid to mess this up, like Swiftpaw did."

Brackenpaw purred and nodded.

Ravenfeather joined them and meowed. "Are you going to tell Bluestar of Swiftpaw's progress?"

The she-cat shook her head. "Not until I know for sure that Swiftpaw and Runningwind are working together well. I suspect it won't be until after the Gathering that Swiftpaw is made a warrior."

Ravenfeather grimaced. "That long?"

Foxshadow tilted her head and smiled playfully. "You starting to like the kit?"

"Well," Ravenfeather meowed, hesitant. "I think he has a good heart."

"Yes, he does," meowed Foxshadow, "but a bad mouth."

They turned to watch Runningwind and Swiftpaw finish a round of swipes, sweeps and nips. They stared at each other panting.

"Good j-job," Runningwind meowed, panting. His tail lashed uncomfortably. He obviously wasn't used to talking to Swiftpaw this way. "You could learn to be quicker, though."

Swiftpaw tensed and meowed defensively. "I'm going as fast as I can."

Foxshadow's tail kinked uncomfortably over her back at Swiftpaw's words and she knew Runningwind felt the same. He struggled to come up with a response but waited too long and Swiftpaw rushed forward, his paws pounding through the dirt in frustration as he desperately swiped at Runningwind. Runningwind instinctively dodged and quickly padded around to behind Swiftpaw, staying out of the frustrated apprentice's paw swipes.

 _You're doing it again,_ Foxshadow thought. _Don't get back into that old habit, Runningwind! Or all this training is for not!_

Runningwind dodged another blow, dancing carefully out of Swiftpaw's black and white apprentice's fur fluffed up in anger.

"I'm going to stop this," Foxshadow rose to her paws, but a black tail stopped her. She looked at Ravenfeather in surprise and confusion.

Ravenfeather looked thoughtful. "They need to settle this on their own. Swiftpaw needs to win and Runningwind is needs to lose. "

Foxshadow looked back at the fighting and realized that Ravenfeather was right. Runningwind was concentrating hard but he was distracted from the fight. His fast reflexes kept him out of his apprentice's reach but it would only be a matter of time before Swiftpaw figured out that Runningwind was slipping up.

"He's too frustrated to notice," hissed Foxshadow. "He's too desperate."

"Wait for it," Ravenfeather meowed softly, sounding uncertain.

Foxshadow watched, body tense and ready to spring between the two if Swiftpaw decided to draw blood. They seemed to dance for what felt like hours, with Swiftpaw unable to land a blow and Runningwind constantly running circles around him. Suddenly, Swiftpaw let out a yowl of triumph as his paw hooked underneath one of Runningwind's paws. The warrior recovered quickly and stepped back out of reach quickly, but Swiftpaw's eyes shined with hope. His moves became more purposeful, striking out at Runningwind's paws and trying to trip the warrior up. His paws finally hooked out a hindpaw and Runningwind struggled to regain his balance. Swiftpaw leaped onto his back causing the warrior to collapse. The apprentice nipped his mentor's shoulder in victory and gave a yowl.

Foxshadow relaxed, pleased, and watched with bated breath as Runningwind stood up and looked at his apprentice. There was a light shining in the warrior's eyes that hadn't been there before and Foxshadow realized that it wasn't just Swiftpaw spirits that had been lifted.

"Well done, Swiftpaw," Runningwind meowed, sounding pleased. "Your reflexes and aiming need work, but you've improved a lot."

Swiftpaw's tail stuck straight up at the praise and he twisted around to look at Ravenfeather, gratitude in his face. The black tom nodded, and Foxshadow couldn't help but purr.

"Well done, all of you," the massive she-cat meowed, putting her tail on Ravenfeather's shoulder and looking at Brackenpaw to make sure he knew he was included in the praise. "You all have made significant progress over the last few days. Once Swiftpaw's training is finished, I promise that I will have a special warrior assessment ready for him. Until then, I will be seeing you two"- she gestured at Runningwind and Swiftpaw with her tail - "after the Gathering."

"Thank you, Foxshadow," meowed Runningwind, dipping his head respectfully. "You have no idea what this means to me."

Foxshadow purred, feeling relieved and overjoyed that things had gone to plan. "Thank you, Runningwind and Swiftpaw, for giving this a try." Foxshadow purred louder when Swiftpaw awkwardly dipped his head with a grimace. "Ravenfeather, Brackenpaw, we should try and catch something for the Clan before we head back to camp."

Foxshadow gestured for them to take the lead and padded behind them until the Sandy Hollow was out of view, then she quickly and quietly ducked away and padded a few fox-lengths towards Lion's Trap. After walking a few tail-lengths, she launched herself up the nearest tree and began rushing through the forest towards the treecutplace, cutting further south and east than normal. She was practically flying through the trees, just like she had about five moons ago when she was still a rogue and leaping from house roof to roof. She felt like a real SkyClan cat now, bounding through the trees like a flying squirrel.

Eventually, she saw the fence line surrounding the lumber mill and saw a line of sturdy pine needle laced branches up ahead. She hopped down from a sturdy elm onto the top of the fence and landed neatly on the ground inside Treecutplace.

She could see the roofs of houses through the tree trunks and sparse branches and the red brick walls of their familiar nests. She could remember the warmth inside and the blankets of her bedsheet and the sound of the fan that ran at night and lulled her to sleep.

Foxshadow shook herself and padded quickly over to the garden's fence, before realizing she had no idea where Princess lived or even how to find her. She would have to check each garden individually for the smell of milk and she didn't have enough time to check them all. So, she decided to focus on ones with cat-doors. She moved quickly south along the fence line and paused whenever she spotted a cat-door. She was practically racing, completely confident in her balance and ability to stop. She halted at the end of the fence line and tallied up the number of houses in her head where a cat-door had been. There were around six nests out of twenty that could hold Princess' house, and many more she could check for tomorrow further north beyond the treecutplace. She would have to check them another day.

Satisfied, she raced along the fence line around the Treecutplace before launching herself back into the familiar branches of oak and maple, heading back to the place where she first climbed the tree and sank to the ground in a hunter's crouch. She had been gone too long to give a good enough explanation to Ravenfeather about her disappearance but hopefully Brackenpaw would convince him this was normal for her and she'd have time to catch a few birds for Dustpelt, if they hadn't all traveled south for the winter.

* * *

"If you want, I can line your nest with these," meowed Dustpelt, blowing at a blackbird's feather that was stuck to his nose. "They are soft."

"They make me sneeze," meowed Foxshadow, swallowing the last mouthful of squirrel. "Besides, I prefer moss. It's springy."

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" yowled Bluestar from atop the Highrock.

Foxshadow blinked and looked up curiously towards the ThunderClan leader. "What does she want?"

"It's time to announce who will be going to the Gathering!"

Dustpelt purred. "Did you forget about the Gathering tomorrow?"

The massive she-cat lashed her tail in his face, causing him to flinch. Foxshadow groaned and rolled onto her side. It had been a whole day since Runningwind and Swiftpaw had started training together and her search for Princess had made it completely slip her mind. "I just realized I need to do something."

The smaller dusky brown tabby tilted his head curiously. "About what?"

"Oh, nothing you should worry about," meowed Foxshadow, then remembered Dustpelt's jealousy. "Just helping Runningwind made Swiftpaw a warrior."

"I see," Dustpelt meowed with a frown.

The rest of the Clan had finished gathering for the meeting and Bluestar continued. "Tigerclaw, Yellowfang, Mistlepaw, Mousefur, Runningwind, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Longtail, Brightface, Brindleface, Goldenflower, Foxshadow, Fireheart and Swiftpaw will be going to the Gathering."

"It's too bad about Swiftpaw," meowed Dustpelt.

"What do you mean?" asked Foxshadow.

"He's going to need to sleep in tonight if he wants to go to the Gathering without appearing weak and tired."

Foxshadow glanced at the sky and realized it was way passed noon. "They are probably still training," she meowed to herself. "I should go check on them." She rose to her paws and paused. "Oh, and Dustpelt, I would like to train Brackenpaw and Thornpaw together tomorrow at the Sandy Hollow if that's okay with you?"

"Sure," meowed Dustpelt. "I'll be too busy preparing for the Gathering anyway."

Foxshadow purred and meowed. "I should probably take them out hunting tomorrow morning so the whole Gathering patrol has something to eat before they go."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Foxscar," Dustpelt purred. "But don't forget that you'll need to sleep as well."

His mate purred back before turning away. "I'll see you tonight," she promised before trotting out of camp.

Once she was out of sight of camp, she quickly climbed a tree and ran through the branches to the Sandy Hollow. When she came to a halt and the branch shook underneath her, the leaves rustling, she grateful for her brown and red coat and cursed her white throat and underbelly for standing out among the autumn colors. Down below, she watched as Runningwind directed Swiftpaw threw a few advanced fighting moves, his pale gray-and-brown face furrowed in concentration. Swiftpaw looked equally determined. They both knew on some level just how far behind Swiftpaw had gotten due to Runningwind's prior training methods and Foxshadow was glad to see both of them determined. Only time would tell if either had progressed as far as they needed to.

Satisfied to see them hard a work, Foxshadow thought she could leave now and search for Princess. Along the way to treecutplace, she made a detour to Lion's Trap to look for rabbits, hoping to find enough to feed the Clan tomorrow. Since no one had hunted in the area in over a moon, Foxshadow was expecting that the area would be swarming. The underbrush was thick and hard to see through, as the many different bushes struggled to spread their leaves to catch every drop of sunlight. Foxshadow couldn't see anything underneath them without climbing down. She listened for the distinct sound of rabbits thumping through the undergrowth but heard nothing. An uneasy feeling spread through her and made her fur stand on end. Had all the rabbits finally left the territory or had they all settled down to hibernate?

Deciding to investigate into the matter later, she continued on until she was leaping down onto the fence surrounding treecutplace and running across the top to the twolegplace. She turned her head northward instead of southward, moving much slower than she had last time. There was a small possibility of being spotted by ThunderClan cats north of Lion's Trap if she made it into that stretch of territory without waiting for night fall. She promised to keep going until she reached the Thunderpath and then she'd return to camp with whatever she could catch on the way. No reason to hang around this area at night.

She moved quietly and carefully, counting the cat-doors and committing each house with one to memory. When the sun had started to set over the territory, she halted, a stiff breeze blowing up from one of the gardens and into her nose. Eyes widening in shock, she stared down into the garden, eyes wide, but the scent was stale.

 _If Fireheart has been in this garden then he must have found Princess_ , Foxshadow thought.

But the reason why Fireheart even met Princess was because Graystripe had been shirking his duties as a mentor to Brackenpaw and made Fireheart feel lonely. What would have caused Fireheart to feel lonely this time round, at least enough to visit his sister?

 _Or perhaps this is the first time they have met and I'm just jumping to conclusions. But if it is true that Fireheart is talking to his sister, does this mean that Fireheart will get Cloudkit for me?_

With the hunt for Princess now over, Foxshadow turned her attention to returning to camp. As she leaped off the fence and vanished into the tree line, the faint scent of Fireheart guided her through the territory and she found herself being led to a familiar smelling spot of forest. The heavy scent of fox filled the air, stale but far less stale than Fireheart's scent, and she stared around at the ground in disbelief. Fox droppings and mint were mixed together along with a few sheddings of dark, short ginger fur and longer, paler orange fur, creating a poultice that no medicine cat would ever use. Foxshadow felt her fur stand on end and her stomach turn.

She was bolting up the nearest tree and racing back to ThunderClan as if the fox was right on her tail, her mind racing with thoughts of Cloudkit or Fireheart ripped to shreds by a hungry canine. When she leaped down into the camp, she rushed into Bluestar's den without meowing a hello to Patchfoot and Goldenflower on vigil and yelped when Bluestar jerked awake in surprise.

"Foxshadow, what is going on?"

Foxshadow didn't bother to calm herself with a few licks. "There's a dog-fox on our territory, Bluestar. I just scented it while near twolegplace. It left it's dropping all over the place. I checked Lion's Trap this afternoon and I'm afraid that the rabbit population might have moved away because of the fox."

The blue-gray leader rose to her paws quickly and gracefully. "I'll warn the Clan immediately. Foxshadow, I want you to stand guard over camp tonight."

Foxshadow stiffened. "But... I have to lead a hunting patrol tomorrow morning with the apprentices so that the Gathering patrol can be fed."

"If that fox is out there, I don't want any of our apprentices hunting until we know it's exact location. It might be at Lion's Trap."

The brown and white she-cat frowned at this assessment. Foxes only set up their nests in abandoned burrows and never dug up one themselves. It was too much work for the scavengers, especially when they have very short life spans and not that many sources of food. "No, it hasn't. I would have known if it had." She imagined trying to escape a fox and realized there were very little ways to do it. Foxes could climb trees and though Foxshadow doubted they could leap from tree to tree she also doubted that the apprentices had enough experience tree climbing to pull it off. She dipped her head. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Bluestar put a comforting tail on her shoulder. "It's okay. I know you want to do your best to feed the Clan but we need to worry about protecting it first. That is why I am assigning you to stand vigil tonight. The rest of the Clan can handle hunting patrols." Her tail lashed. "I will also want you on night vigil for the foreseeable future, and I'm afraid this means you won't be going to the gathering after all, either."

Foxshadow felt her heart pang in disappointment but she knew Bluestar was right. She dipped her head. "Yes, Bluestar."

Bluestar nodded and padded out of camp. Foxshadow's thoughts drifted to Swiftpaw and she wondered if the fox was going to cause his warrior ceremony to be delayed. She knew from the series that Swiftpaw would recklessly rush into the fight just to prove himself and she knew, especially now that he had seen a few moves on how to defeat a fox, that he'd want to test it out on his own. An uncomfortable prickly sensation rippled through her pelt.

Fireheart's potential apprentice would have to wait. Swiftpaw's warrior assessment came first.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is very, very late. Ugh. I might have one up tomorrow but I don't know. I miss the good old days when I had enough time to update on both Saturday and Sunday.  
**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	35. Forest of Secrets pt 8

**A/N: Ugh, this chapter was a struggle for multiple reasons and I'm still not happy with it. I am VERY not happy with it. So, here's the reason why I couldn't post it last weekend. My internet went down Friday, there was a drinking party outside my door on Saturday and made it was too dangerous to leave my apartment, and my internet only came back up late Sunday so I was unable to finish my chapter on time and post it. :/ It's also short because my muse was fighting me on it. Hope you guys enjoy it, at least?  
**

 **AnonChan1: YUP. SO MANY QUESTIONS. SO LITTLE TIME. (4) Foxshadow is very creative. (A) Yup. Yup. Yup. (B) More talking of Cloudkit in this chapter. (C) Foxshadow... her life is crazy and she's busy as a cat can be. This chapter actually addresses it.  
**

 **darkmoon0023: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the name! It's mostly in reference to future fics rather than anything specific in this fic. I hope it makes sense in hindsight...  
**

 **Sierra: Everyone wants to see her have kits! I love how you guys are enjoying their relationship! I promise they will show up after Rising Storm.  
**

 **BonEpic: THANK YOU! 8D  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: 83  
**

 **lemon(1): Aw man! And this chapter is going to have so many more, unfortunately, simply because I just can't write this chapter for some reason. Hopefully this won't happen next time.  
**

 **lemon(2): Thank you so much! I'm glad you're willing to be patient! Sorry for the terrible chapter though! I wish I could have written something better but this chapter was fighting me from start to finish. T^T  
**

* * *

As dawn slowly fell over the land, Foxshadow and the other two cats on vigil, Patchpelt and Brindleface, rose to retire to their nests. Foxshadow walked into the warriors den and practically collapsed next to Dustpelt, resisting her body's urge to fall instantly asleep.

"Dustpelt," she meowed, her voice raspy with tiredness as she prodded his side, "wake up."

The dark brown tabby started and snorted out a feather, blinking his eyes blearily at her. When he noticed the color of the light, he groaned.

"It's too early," he said with a yawn.

"Dustpelt," Foxshadow mew was sharper with annoyance. "I need you to take Brackenpaw out to train with Sandstorm and Cinderpaw today. I'm stuck on night vigil until we can chase off the fox on our territory."

Dustpelt blinked in surprise, having slept through the announcement. "There's a fox?"

"Yeah, a big male one, too. No one is allowed to leave the camp alone." Foxshadow grew thoughtful. "Take Ravenfeather with you. He's handled a fox before and already has experience from helping to mentor Swiftpaw."

Dustpelt begrudgingly nodded. "I should probably take your spot on the dawn patrol," he mewed, rising to his paws.

Foxshadow hesitated, having hoped to have had some time to sleep next to her mate but was too tired to argue for him to stay and knew it was ultimately pointless. "Make sure no one has crossed the Sunningrocks border," she meowed, her tone turning playful. "We don't want them learning how to catch fish out of vole holes."

Dustpelt purred in amusement before he trotted out of the den. With a sigh, Foxshadow sank her head into her paws and sighed. Now that she had been put on the night vigil, she knew there would be no way for her to train Swiftpaw. He needed his warrior ceremony to be done as soon as possible, before Swiftpaw thought the only way to become a warrior was to fight the fox. She was too tired to deal with it right now and too preoccupied at night to watch Swiftpaw's training. That, plus trying to find time to speak with Fireheart alone, made it nearly impossible for Foxshadow to continue being involved with Runningwind and Swiftpaw's training.

 _Maybe Bluestar will take me off the night vigil after the Gathering,_ she thought, her eyelids drooping and her mind clouded with tiredness. She curled up with her nose under her hindleg to block out the sunlight and found herself quickly drifting off to sleep. She had been up for nearly twenty hours and she just couldn't stay awake any longer.

When she woke up, it was already night time. The Gathering patrol had yet to leave but the warriors den was startling empty. Realizing that someone else had woken her up, she turned to look around her and was surprised to see Mousefur.

"Bluestar said you were on vigil," she meowed.

Foxshadow sighed. "I was up from dawn to dawn yesterday," she meowed. "I hope she isn't planning to have me on both the vigil and dawn patrol from now on."

Mousefur's ear twitched. "I can take your position on the dawn patrol, if you want."

Foxshadow looked at Mousefur in surprise. "Could you? That would be a big relief to me and Dustpelt."

Mousefur purred and rolled her eyes. "Sure," she meowed. "I'll tell Tigerclaw right away."

"Thank you," meowed Foxshadow in relief, rising to her paws. "I'll see you on your return."

"Same," meowed the she-cat before she ducked out of the den.

Foxshadow squeezed out and stared around at the busy camp. A wave of tiredness hit her and she wanted nothing more than to return to her nest, but knew it would be pointless. Instead, she sought out her apprentice, who was hanging back near the apprentice's den alongside his brother and sister, looking jealously at Swiftpaw.

"Hello, Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow, before giving the others a smile. "Cinderpaw, Thornpaw. Are you planning to stay up until they return?"

Cinderpaw bounced excitedly on her paws. "I am!"

"I want to," meowed Brackenpaw, looking both hopeful and respectful while his tail twitched nervously.

Thornpaw looked away from his sister. "I'm on the sunhigh patrol."

"There is no shame in wanting to be on patrol, Thornpaw," Foxshadow meowed with a purr. "But vigils are also important and this could give you a taste of how your warrior vigil is going to be like."

"But Dustpelt wants me to rest," meowed Thornpaw, ears dropping.

Foxshadow purred. "How about this," she meowed, looking at Cinderpaw, "when it looks like it's almost time for the Gathering patrol to return, Cinderpaw will come and wake you up. If you are up for it, Cinderpaw."

"You can count on me!" she meowed, pressing up against Thornpaw with a loud purr.

Thornpaw perked up and nodded. "Okay."

Foxshadow purred and winked at him. "If Dustpelt complains, I'll tell him you're a light sleeper and woke up the moment we yowled a greeting."

"I'll see you then," Thornpaw meowed and dipped his head respectfully before vanishing into the den.

Foxshadow turned to the other two, a secretive smile on her face. "Do you guys want to hear the story of my warrior vigil?"

She purred with amusement when the two apprentices nodded in excitement. She looked out over the forest, her thoughts drifting momentarily to Swiftpaw. Foxshadow lashed her tail. She wasn't going to get anything done while on the night vigil. She had to get off it as soon as possible.

"As you know, Ravenfeather and I had our warrior vigils together," she began, but stopped in surprise.

"What is it, Foxshadow?" asked Brackenpaw, worry furrowing his brow.

"Oh, nothing," she meowed, with a sheepish smile. "As I was saying..."

As she told them the story of her warrior vigil, her realization hung at the back of her mind. Why not ask Bluestar to put Ravenfeather on the vigil instead? She had an apprentice, after all, and surely Bluestar would excuse her based on that?

* * *

"Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow, dipping her head to the blue-gray queen. The leader's den was cold after a long night at the Gathering. She'd waited until Thornpaw had been woken up before leaving them to speak with Bluestar. "I need to be taken off night vigil. Put Ravenfeather there in my place. He can handle a fox as just as well as I can and he can hide in the darkness better. I need to work on my apprentice's training."

The blue-gray leader hesitated. "I admit that I was a bit rash to appoint you to the position, Foxshadow, but are you sure Ravenfeather can handle it? He needed your help to deal with a fox last time and you did most of the fighting."

"I have trained with Ravenfeather since he was an apprentice, Bluestar, and I still train him alongside my own apprentice. He has greatly improved since becoming a warrior and I am positive that he can handle any fox by himself."

A small part of Foxshadow worried that Bluestar was right and Ravenfeather wouldn't be able to handle it, but she assured herself that Ravenfeather was better than Swiftpaw. At least Ravenfeather had brains and experience and knew when to run away, but Swiftpaw didn't. Not yet.

Besides, Ravenfeather had two other cats on vigil with him whose presence alone would dissuade Tigerclaw from trying to kill him.

Right?

"Just in case," meowed Foxshadow suddenly, "you could put Fireheart on the night vigil as well. It might help those two become friends again."

Bluestar flicked an ear thoughtfully. "I see."

Foxshadow felt the old familiar jealous pop up. _Of course you_ _reconsider once I bring Fireheart and Ravenfeather's friendship into this, don't you?_ She pushed it aside. There were more important things to think about.

"I will put Ravenfeather and Fireheart on the night vigil. I'm sure Brindleface and Patchpelt will be relieved. You can return to training your apprentice tomorrow, Foxshadow."

"Thank you, Bluestar," Foxshadow meowed, dipping her head.

"You will need to tell Ravenfeather and Fireheart before tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Foxshadow quickly padded out of the den and let out a sigh of relief. She glanced around for Fireheart and Ravenfeather but she found Dustpelt instead, scolding the apprentices. She quickly rushed over.

"What's going on?" she meowed, confused.

Dustpelt bristled. "You should know better than to let the apprentices stay up this late! They have training tomorrow."

"Yes, I'm sure they do," meowed Foxshadow, "but I decided to give them some extra training tonight. Besides, Thornpaw slept in until our yowling woke him up. He's a light sleeper."

"But did you think about what Sandstorm might want?" Dustpelt hissed, glaring at Cinderpaw who ducked her head.

Foxshadow bristled. "I can't think of everything, Dustpelt. Cinderpaw never told me Sandstorm was planning any special training tomorrow, so how could I know?" She shot a glare at Cinderpaw who was staring at the ground, her ears flat. Foxshadow sighed, her heart twisting at the sight. "I think you should find Sandstorm and tell her what happened."

"But I'm not done," meowed Dustpelt.

"Cinderpaw needs to inform her mentor about what happened so Sandstorm can deal with it properly," meowed Foxshadow. "Unless you're both Cinderpaw and Thornpaw's mentor now."

Dustpelt's pelt rippled. "A warrior should be able to punish any apprentice."

"But Sandstorm is the only one who controls her schedule," meowed Foxshadow. "Cinderpaw can own up to her mistake. If you want, you can make sure she tells her the truth."

Dustpelt growled and clawed the ground. "Fine. Cinderpaw, come with me."

Foxshadow watched Cinderpaw walk away, her tail wilting and turned with a frown to Thornpaw. "It's good that you did the responsible thing, Thornpaw, and told me what Dustpelt was expecting from you," meowed Foxshadow. "It proves that you are ready for the responsibilities of a warrior."

Thornpaw grimaced. "Is Cinderpaw going to get into trouble?"

"I don't know. You'd have better luck asking Sandstorm." Foxshadow looked at Brackenpaw. "Today, when you wake up, you'll need to make sure the elders are fed, their nests are new, and all their other needs are taken care of. Tomorrow, I'll be training you after sunhigh at the Sandy Hollow. We're going to see how Runningwind and Swiftpaw are doing. "

Brackenpaw dipped his head. "Yes, sir. Goodnight." Then he padded away.

"Goodnight," meowed Thornpaw, padding after his brother as they returned to their nests in the apprentice's den.

Foxshadow watched them, concern on her face. She would be sleeping through most of tomorrow and trying to get back on her sleep schedule. Hopefully, Runningwind could wait until then.

Remembering her mission, she turned around and headed towards the warriors den where Fireheart and Ravenfeather would most likely be. However, they were both gone and Foxshadow stared around herself in confusion. A faint memory prickled her mind and she headed towards the dirtplace, slipping around back and looking for Ravenfeather's den, following his scent trail. When she saw his tail sticking out from under a bush, she couldn't help an amused purr.

"You know, it's not a good hiding place if your scent leads us all directly there," she meowed, startling the tom.

"Foxshadow," he meowed with relief. "Fireheart and I were just talking about you."

"I hope it was about good things," she meowed, purring. "I have something to tell you. Bluestar's orders. You're both going to be on the night vigil. You should tell Patchpelt and Brindleface that they've been relieved of their duties."

Ravenfeather looked nervous. "Are you sure I'll be okay on the night patrol, with Tigerclaw and that fox?"

"Don't worry," meowed Foxshadow. "Just remember what I taught you and make sure to stay up in the trees. The fox won't see you and Tigerclaw will think you're good at hiding."

Ravenfeather nodded.

"Goodnight," meowed Foxshadow, glancing over Ravenfeather's shoulder toward where Fireheart was hiding in the den. "Fireheart, we need to talk soon. I'll catch you at dusk."

Fireheart tilted his head and nodded. Foxshadow headed back to her den and was pleased to see Dustpelt had returned to his den, looking tired.

"What did Sandstorm say?" she asked cautiously.

"Sandstorm was upset Cinderpaw stayed up all night," meowed Dustpelt. "She blames you."

Foxshadow lashed her tail, annoyed. "Once a mousebrain, always a mousebrain. Does she realize that she's going to have to sleep too before she can train Cinderpaw tomorrow, right? Cinderpaw has plenty of time to catch up on her rest."

Dustpelt snorted in amusement. "Goodnight, Foxscar."

* * *

Foxshadow padded out of the warrior's den before dawn and paused at the entrance, remembering that she was now off her night vigil and the dawn patrol. She wondered briefly if she should tell Mousefur the good news but decided against it. She quickly padded over to Fireheart.

"Ravenfeather's up?" she asked quietly, glancing up into the trees. She sat down with her tail curling upward between her forepaws.

"Yeah," meowed the fiery red tom. "What do you want to talk about?"

The fox-colored she-cat flicked her bushy tail. "I know you've been visiting your sister."

Fireheart started and looked around quickly. "You know?"

"I do now," Foxshadow teased, before hardening her expression. "You must remember your duties, Fireheart. Ravenfeather's life is in danger and that should be your first priority."

Fireheart stiffened. "What about Tigerclaw? I have to prove that he killed Redtail."

The massive she-cat narrowed her glowing yellow eyes. "Ravenfeather is all the proof, Fireheart. You should be looking for other ways to back his story up rather than spending your time trying to convince Graystripe to return to ThunderClan."

Fireheart flattened his ears and looked away. The sounds of the dawn patrol working together caused her to turn away, and she waved her tail at them as Mousefur, Sandstorm, Cinderpaw, and Brackenpaw padded out of the camp. The big she-cat looked back at Fireheart but the tom was already heading inside the warrior's den to rest. Foxshadow lashed her tail. If she wanted Cloudkit to become Fireheart's apprentice then she needed him out there talking to Princess. Though, considering the way their conversation had turned, Foxshadow didn't think Fireheart would stop seeing Princess anyway. He would lay off it for only a few days, at least. Foxshadow left the camp and clawed up the nearest tree to wait.

As the sun crawled across the sky and towards sunhigh, Foxshadow began to move across the territory towards the Sandy Hollow, where she waited for Swiftpaw to arrive.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is sooooo short. I'm so mad. Hope you guys enjoy it?  
**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**


	36. Forest of Secrets pt 9

**A/N: Yay, another update! This chapter has turned out way better than last. Hope you guys like it!  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Thank you! I just felt like I could have added so much to it and writer's block was preventing me. But now I'm over it and I feel like I've resurrected the story from the grave with this chapter.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Gosh that sounds bad! Hope you're doing okay! (B) Speaking of Schrodinger... ever heard of Schrodinger's Butterfly? I'd suggest looking it up on TvTropes if you haven't. (1) Dustpelt... gosh I love him. (2) Raggedstar isn't letting her dream of StarClan or the Dark Forest, and he's not letting her dream stay in one place at one time either so she doesn't end up reality walking there. He's doing his job okayish. (3) Bluestar's been much better since the beginning and she's actually listening to Foxshadow which is good. Also, which two should probably talk about this? Fireheart and Foxshadow or Foxshadow and Bluestar? (4) Cinderpaw is so adorable. She wants to get away with murder but no one is gonna let her. (5) Ravenfeather... le sigh.  
**

 **BonEpic: You're welcome! :) Here's another!  
**

 **Sierra: (1) I am so glad you love Dustshadow so much! :) (2) Wow, I didn't realize I had written so many parallels to Fireheart's own besties in the series. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing, but for now I'm gonna say its a good thing. (3) Cloudkit, Cloudkit, where for art thou Cloudkit? XD Also, that scenario is tots accurate. (4) Yes, Ravenfeather will have a mate one day. He's bisexual, just like Fireheart so... omg, the images that suddenly popped in my mind are so... Rated MA. Geez. Fire x Raven x Sand, anyone? That's a love triangle that's never going to happen in this story but geez does it sound interesting. Might write a oneshot on it one day. (5) Tawnykit and Bramblekit are already born, along with two siblings. I think their names are Eaglekit and Lionkit... (and together they form Griffinkit. lol) (6) Oooo, you evil person you. He would totally deserve it but sadly Swiftpaw's fate has already been decided... (7) Halfway through FOS if everything goes as planned actually. (8) Foxshadow is a mixbreed, commonly referred to as "American Long hair" but is actually a mix of Maine Coone (RiverClan's size and ThunderClan's coat standard), Ragdoll (ShadowClan's board chest) and Oriental Siamese (WindClan's head), at least if you look at her body.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: You're welcome!  
**

 **VinejaysVinewings: Patchpelt is a very young elder with server arthritis in his hips and he volunteers for the job all the time because he wants to be helpful despite not being able to hunt or leave the camp. Brindleface is still a young queen.  
**

* * *

The sun rose and began sinking as Swiftpaw and Runningwind sparred.

Foxshadow watched them carefully as the two warriors danced, struggling to defeat each other. The past frustration was gone as the two finally began cooperating with each other, with Runningwind pausing every few seconds to get his breath and to correct Swiftpaw's form or focus. At this distant, she could barely hear their words and she carefully made her way around the clearing so she could overhear them. Neither of the cats looked up at her hiding place and she made a mental note to educate them about that later. Her gaze swept the clearing every few heartbeats, listening for the any unnatural silence which could announce the arrival of the fox.

A lull in the sparring match drew Foxshadow's attention back to Swiftpaw and Runningwind, curious.

"Runningwind," said Swiftpaw quietly. "Can I ask why you like Foxshadow so much?"

Foxshadow's tail twitched curiously and she stretched out her paws as she laid down on her perch.

"What brought this on?" Runningwind meowed, quickly glancing around.

Swiftpaw shot his mentor a quick glare, shoulders tensing, before he forced himself to relax. "I've been meaning to ask. "

"Foxshadow is a great strategist and fighter," mewed Runningwind. "I've known since she was an apprentice. Now, about that last spar...?"

"But how did you know?" meowed Swiftpaw, frustrated. "What did she do as an apprentice?"

Runningwind sat down, frowning. "You remember that time we went to the ShadowClan camp?"

"Yeah, but you turned back after you saw Brokenstar escaping."

Runningwind shifted. "Uh, yeah, that's right." He looked down at his paws.

Swiftpaw stared at Runningwind, fur spiking in surprise. "That didn't really happen, did it?"

Up in her tree, Foxshadow tensed in preparation to spring down and interrupt their conversation, her mind racing. If Swiftpaw learned of what the ThunderClan patrol did, he might tell someone at a Gathering. Even if they don't dismiss him just because he's an apprentice, doesn't mean it won't bring the whole incident to someone's attention - and who know was out there with the same inquisitive spirit as Fireheart?

But a part of her was also curious to see where Runningwind went with this. If it could repair their relationship, could it be a good thing to reveal what really happened? Foxshadow glanced around subconsciously, wondering who else might be around spying on their conversation.

The silvered brown tabby lashed his tail as he stared at the ground before finally lifting his head. "No, that isn't what happened."

"Then what did happen?" Swiftpaw asked, curiously.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," Runningwind meowed. "Foxshadow, Ravenfeather, Fireheart and Graystripe were all apprentices then. They had gone ahead into ShadowClan territory on Bluestar's orders to look for Yellowfang. She had wanted to help ShadowClan when Brokenstar was still in control. A patrol was already being gathered to go into ShadowClan territory and attack them because of how they tried to steal Mistlekit."

Foxshadow shifted in surprise, eyes wide. She hadn't expected Runningwind to know that. How observant was the young warrior? Or could Bluestar or Whitestorm have told them?

"We found Foxshadow and the others hiding nearby the camp with a few of the ShadowClan elders who had been kicked out. We all planned to sneak into the camp to take back the kit but Foxshadow had a better idea. To prevent the good-hearted warriors of ShadowClan from attacking us and to prevent anyone from realizing we were involved in the attack, Foxpaw thought we should disguise our scent using the marshwater. When we attacked the camp, we were unrecognizable. Brokenstar mistook one of our number for Raggedstar. It was during that fight that I realized that StarClan stood by Foxshadow."

Foxshadow felt confused. Didn't Runningwind realize that Brokenstar had mistaken _her_ for Raggedstar?

Runningwind looked up towards the stars. "Afterwards, when we made it back to ThunderClan territory, we washed off in the stream. We were elated and wanted to return to camp right away to tell them what we had done, but Foxshadow stopped us. She told us that StarClan themselves had a paw in the attack and that it would undo everything StarClan had been trying to do if we claimed that ThunderClan was involved with the attack. Whitestorm must have seen wisdom in this and so we promised to keep silent on the whole affair. When we returned to camp, Fireheart told Yellowfang about what had been decided and she backed us up."

Swiftpaw seemed to collapse under this news in shock. " _StarClan_ is working with Foxshadow?"

Runningwind flicked his tail nervously. "Yes. You can't tell anyone of what I've told you. Bluestar herself agreed that no one outside of our patrol should know. It is StarClan's will."

The black and white apprentice stared at Runningwind, despair in his eyes. "No wonder you're head over tail for her."

The warrior jolted in shock. "W-what?" His blue eyes flickered around for any sign of Dustpelt but he couldn't see him anywhere. "I have no interest in her _in that way_ at all!"

Swiftpaw had gone quiet, his voice soft and tail drooping. "I'm done training for today."

Runningwind stared at Swiftpaw for a long awkward moment before he nodded. "Okay." The gray-and-brown tabby turned and padded up to the top of the Sandy Hollow slope. "I will see you here tomorrow, Swiftpaw."

"Yeah, okay," muttered Swiftpaw, before rising to his paws to follow.

Foxshadow watched them disappear into the forest and sighed. It was hard to see the apprentice's hopes of becoming as strong as her dashed before her very eyes. It was impossible to become like someone with StarClan on their side.

 _Unless he has a chance to beat me in battle, he's never going to believe he can be a worthy warrior of ThunderClan._

Foxshadow flicked her tail thoughtfully and scrambled down the tree to follow after them. Tomorrow, she had training here with Brackenpaw and she could test Swiftpaw's skills personally then.

 _I wonder if Dustpelt will change his mind about Runningwind if he knew why Runningwind liked me so much_ , she wondered before shaking her head. _If Dustpelt wouldn't believe that Brokenstar was a bigger threat than RiverClan, then he won't believe this either. Better to let him figure out his own feelings and stop his jealous rampages on his own._

It was approaching dusk when Foxshadow returned to camp and she realized belatedly that she hadn't brought anything back. She gave herself a few thoughtful licks and flattened her ears in discomfort at having to face them. She sucked in a breath and padded through the bramble tunnel, glancing around quickly to take in everyone who was there. Willowpelt was outside the nursery alongside Brindleface and both were eating a squirrel. Tigerclaw was beneath the Great Rock, his amber eyes narrowed and watching carefully. Foxshadow padded towards him, her mind racing with an explanation.

"I watched Swiftpaw sparring today," she meowed in greeting, glancing at the feathers at Tigerclaw's paws. "I believe he is ready to be made a warrior and I have an idea of what his warrior assessment should be."

"That explains why you brought back no prey," meowed Tigerclaw, licking his paw. "But you should be focusing on your own apprentice instead of Runningwind's."

Foxshadow lashed her tail. "That is my business, now isn't it, Tigerclaw? Can you trust me?"

Tigerclaw flexed his claws and narrowed his eyes. "Very well. What do you propose his warrior assessment be?"

"He will fight me," meowed Foxshadow. "One on one."

The dark warrior perked his ears and stared at her. He suddenly chuckled. "You surprise me, Foxshadow."

Foxshadow tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I was expecting something less... challenging," Tigerclaw meowed quickly. "You must see true greatness within Swiftpaw."

"Swiftpaw needs to fight me in order for his confidence to be restored." Foxshadow narrowed her eyes back at Tigerclaw. "He will never be a good warrior without that."

"I see," meowed Tigerclaw, his whiskers drooping in a frown. "I will tell Bluestar at once."

The massive she-cat frowned. "Why should Bluestar know?"

"You want to keep this between us?" Tigerclaw asked curiously.

Foxshadow felt her thoughts spin in a whirlwind. She could remember his words, how he said she would make a good deputy. His deputy. "I trust you, Tigerclaw."

"More than you trust Bluestar?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, perhaps a touch too quickly. Her lips curled and she lowered her voice. "I would never trust a kit-killer."

Tigerclaw nodded. "That is understandable." He waved his tail dismissively. "Tell me once Swiftpaw's warrior ceremony is done."

She bowed her head. "Thank you, Tigerclaw."

As she turned to leave, Tigerclaw stopped her. "And Foxshadow, you may eat if you wish."

Foxshadow dipped her head again and quickly padded over to the freshkill pile, grabbing the nearest red squirrel before walking towards the front of the warrior den. With winter approaching, the freshkill pile was looking a little low, but she already had plans tomorrow. Perhaps Ravenfeather and Fireheart could...?

She shook herself. No, they were on fox lookout duty. She had to get rid of that fox before anything else could happen. Her claws racked the ground. If Swiftpaw succeeded in his warrior assessment, she take all of them over to Lion's Trap for those rabbits. If that fox hadn't chased them all off...

Foxshadow growled to herself. That fox needed to be chased off and soon.

* * *

As dawn arrived, Foxshadow crawled out of the warrior's den, looked around purposefully for her apprentice and found him just as he crawled out of his den. Brackenpaw looked up at her and immediately brightened in excitement.

"Are we training today?"

Foxshadow nodded. "We leave at once."

Brackenpaw nodded and made for the freshkill but halted when he realized that Foxshadow was already heading out of the bramble tunnel and quickly followed after her. Foxshadow glanced back at him.

"We are going to hunt in the tree tops on our way to the Sandy Hollow. We won't return until dusk so we should leave the prey in the freshkill pile for someone else," Foxshadow meowed, before launching herself up the nearest tree.

Foxshadow turned and watched Brackenpaw scramble up another tree and then began racing through the tree tops, ears perked and eyes open for the flash of grey or red of a bushy tree rat. Foxshadow saw a few skittering up a tree in a territorial dance. She flashed her tail at Brackenpaw, who was struggling to stay on a branch he had just leaped on, and gestured to the squirrels. Brackenpaw nodded, his legs trembling, as he forced himself to leap to the next tree. Foxshadow watched him carefully to see if he had his balance before turning her attention back to the squirrels. She leaped into the tree and cut off their only exit, leaped after a squrriel and landing squarely on its back. A heartbeat later, Brackenpaw landed a few fox-lengths away on the other squirrel.

"Let's take them up into the trees and eat," meowed Foxshadow. "You still need to work on your tree climbing."

"Yes, sir," meowed Brackenpaw, bounding up the tree and balancing precariously on the second lowest branch.

Foxshadow followed and settled on the lowest branch, before chewing and swallowing her meal almost whole. Excitement buzzed through her legs and she shifted eagerly on the branch, her gaze drifting to Brackenpaw, who was concentrating so hard on eating the squirrel and not falling off the branch that he didn't notice Foxshadow had already finished.

"I'll eat what you don't eat," meowed Foxshadow, licking a paw.

Brackenpaw looked at her and her paws and flattened his ears. "Did you eat the whole thing?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, realizing that it might not be something these cats do. "As a rogue, you'd never know where your next meal came from. Better to eat everything and vomit the inedible bits later."

A look of disgust flashed across the young pale brown tabby's face and he quickly looked away. "Sounds horrible," he meowed through what Foxshadow guessed was a rolling stomach.

She softened. "It's life Brackenpaw." She glanced up at the sky. "Let's head to the Sandy Hollow."

She bounded across the branch like a squirrel and leaped into the next tree. She glanced back to see Brackenpaw steadying himself to attempt the same feat, legs trembling. She frowned.

"We can travel on the ground until you're ready, Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "This skill is just for scouting out the land when you know you're enemy is on the ground."

Brackenpaw seemed almost relieved but he quickly hid it. "I can keep going."

Foxshadow purred. "You've been an apprentice for two and three-quarter moons now, right?"

The young tom nodded, ears flicking. "I hear some other cats already in the Sandy Hollow."

"That would be Runningwind and Swiftpaw." Foxshadow gestured for Brackenpaw to follow. "Swiftpaw's warrior assessment is today and I want your opinion of it."

Brackenpaw nodded and they padded down the slopes of Sandy Hollow onto the sandy floor below. Runningwind and Swiftpaw paused in their sparring at Foxshadow's appearance, curious.

"Today, Runningwind," meowed the big she-cat. "Is Swiftpaw's warrior assessment."

Runningwind perked up and lifted his head in excitement and pride. "Really?"

His apprentice shifted beside him. "What is it going to be on?"

Foxshadow gestured for Brackenpaw to step up beside Runningwind. "You two are going to watch."

"What am I going to do?" asked the black and white tom impatiently, glancing around.

"Your warrior assessment is simple," meowed Foxshadow turned her back to the tom and padded a good distance away before facing him. She tensed and crouched, ready to fight. "You have to defeat me in battle."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Wish you all the best of luck til next weekend!  
**

 **\- S.I.S.**


	37. Forest of Secrets pt 10

**A/N: What is this? My third update this weekend?** **Sorry for three short chapters in a row, but I hope they make up for the lack of posting last weekend.**

 **AnonChan1: Aww. I hope you get some good amount of sleep tonight, if my update doesn't keep you up. (B) It was the inspiration for my story. Realitywalking powers had to come from somewhere. (3) Maybe. I don't think it will happen though. (4) Yes she is! (i) We are back to roman numerals, lol. (ii) What idea are you talking about? With Swiftpaw, I mean. (iii) Lol, too late. (iv) Spoilers! :) (v) Prepare yourself!  
**

 **Sierra: (1) Well, here it is! (2) If Tigerclaw was a good boy, I'd consider it. I'm afraid that that's going to have to be another oneshot idea. I should probably be writing these two down somewhere and working on those oneshots like I promised. Lots of people have been waiting on those. (3) Check out my profile for summaries and info on future plots and stories. (4) Fireheart's going to have a lot more babies than in canon. We shall see if they all survive... but a FireheartXFoxshadow kit pairing isn't entirely out of the question. We shall see, hm?  
**

* * *

Swiftpaw gaped at her. "I'm supposed to fight you!?"

Foxshadow couldn't help a small purr. "Are you too scared to fight me?"

Swiftpaw's legs shook in rage at the taunt and he snarled. "Of course I can take you on!"

"Then prove it," taunted Foxshadow, remember how she once taunted Heavystep before everything went awry. She prepared herself for Swiftpaw to take advantage of her distraction but the black and white tom was distracted himself, trying to search for a weak spots and completely missing the most obvious one. In a flash, she feigned a charge and stopped as Swiftpaw scrambled away. "What's the matter? Too afraid to actually hit me."

The black and white's fur fluffed up and he charged blindly, trying to rake his paw through her shoulder fur. She twisted away and around, so her muzzle was within reach of his hindleg. He twisted around to attack but she easily grasped his ankle in her mouth and yanked him hard off his paws. He landed with a whoosh on his side, winded and she lashed her sheathed paws across his stomach.

"You're going to have to do better than this," she meowed, letting go and stepping back.

Swiftpaw rolled to his feet and hissed angrily, his gaze much more serious now as he scanned her for weakness. This time, he attacked, his paws slapping down hard towards her shoulder, but she reared and kicked out with her forepaws, knocking him over. He rolled away and tried again, this time aiming for her hindlegs, but she twisted her body around so she was facing the opposite direction. Swiftpaw landed right in front of her, a growl of frustration threaten to escape him. Foxshadow lunged for his side and he darted away.

"Have you realized yet that you can't beat me?" Foxshadow taunted. "Give up now. You're never going to be a warrior if you think _this_ is impossible."

"Shut up!"

Swiftpaw charged, claws extended and aimed towards her flank. She sidestepped and twisted around once more, earning another growl of frustration. Instead of waiting for him to attack, she lunged for his side, her own claws extended and scratching his haunch. He jerked away and hissed.

"If you use your claws, then I will use mine," she meowed, voice low and dark.

The black and white apprentice sheathed his claws and padded in a half-circle around Foxshadow, trying once again to find a weakness. Foxshadow lashed her tail in annoyance. Brackenpaw would have known by now that Foxshadow was too slow for Swiftpaw to handle. She forced herself to keep her eyes on Swiftpaw and tensed to spring.

Swiftpaw lunged, Foxshadow leaped straight up. Swiftpaw whipped around to face Foxshadow, thinking she had leaped behind him, but instead she came crashing down on his shoulders and flattened him underneath her. She waited for his breathing to become regular again before stepping off him and padding a ways away.

"I can keep this up all day," Foxshadow taunted.

Runningwind piped up. "Use your speed, Swiftpaw."

Swiftpaw lashed his tail, annoyed, but ducked his head in what might have been respect and focused on Foxshadow once again. Then he charged, practically bolting like a lightning bolt across the Sandy Hollow, and Foxshadow barely had time to react before something collided with her shoulder. Her mouth opened in a snarl and she grabbed a mouthful of fur. She twisted her head, trying to push the tom off his feet as Swiftpaw struggled in vain to push her off her paws. The strength match lasted for half a second before Swiftpaw found himself no longer supported by Foxshadow's bulk, and her grip on his scruff caused him to rolled onto his side. In a heartbeat, she had pinned him.

"Quick on your paws, but not where it counts," Foxshadow hissed, annoyed. "You can't defeat me using strength and speed alone."

Foxshadow lifted her paws off him and allowed the black and white tom to stand up.

"This is impossible!" hissed Swiftpaw, crouching and staring at them in despair. "You're the best warrior in the whole Clan!"

Foxshadow felt a flush of fury. "You're stupid if you think that should stop you from trying!" She whipped around. "A warrior is going to always going to face someone who is stronger, smarter or faster than they are! You have to use your head and determination to defeat them or else remain an apprentice forever!" Feeling like she had completely lost Swiftpaw, she turned to Runningwind. "You are going to fight me now."

Runningwind blinked slowly and stood up. "Okay."

Foxshadow was surprised that Runningwind wasn't surprised by this and was kind of glad he wasn't surprised. She padded a tail-length away and turned to face Runningwind. Swiftpaw watched them with curiosity and a frown on his face.

It started so fast that Foxshadow very quickly forget everything except staying on her paws and keeping Runningwind away. The grey-and-brown tom darted around her and rained blows from every angle, and Foxshadow was whipping around to much to pay attention to anything else. Runningwind would run around her, back track and constantly keep her off her paws as he continued to rain blows down on her. Foxshadow had never felt more at a loss of what to do than ever before.

 _Faster than the running wind, indeed_ , she thought to herself, impressed.

She swiped out her tail in order to trip Runningwind, but the tom reacted to the motion and instead grabbed her tail in his mouth, yanking it along with him as he circled her once more. She twisted to bite at him, but he jerked back and yanked her tail, earning a yowl of pain. She lashed out with her paws at his shoulders, but he sidestepped the blows, his mouth firmly on her tail. A growl of frustration and fury escaped her and she charged at him, her paws slashing at his paws and forcing him to let pay attention to his paws. He yanked on her tail again, causing her to overbalance and stumble. He used the opportunity to race across to her other side and land a hard blow on her ribs.

With a jolt, she realized just how much control he had over her because of her tail. She leaped and twisted away, ripping her tail of his mouth and landing neatly a foxlength away. Then she charged forward, darting to the left when Runningwind made her for her left, and felt her shoulder hit the grey-and-brown tom. She mouthed his ankle and twisted her rear away from him, lifting her head to knock him off his paws. She felt his other hindpaw kick her in the throat and she gasped, releasing his leg. Dizzy, Foxshadow looked up just in time to see Runningwind leap onto her back and yank at her scruff, knocking her off her paws. A heartbeat later, he pinned her. Just like that, it was over.

A few heartbeats passed as their breathing became regular again and Runningwind let her up. Foxshadow staggered to her paws and shook herself, before licking her chest fur flat again. She looked up towards Swiftpaw, who was watching them with his mouth agape.

"You see?" asked Runningwind, sounding almost like he was pleading. "It isn't impossible."

Swiftpaw ducked his head, gaze thoughtful. "Okay. I want to try again."

Runningwind glanced at Foxshadow who nodded and rose to her paws.

The sun sank slowly towards the horizon, but Swiftpaw could not knock Foxshadow down. The sparring match concluded as dusk fell over them. Foxshadow waved Swiftpaw away with her tail.

"That's enough for today," meowed Foxshadow. "We should all head back to camp. Brackenpaw, you're with me."

Runningwind nodded. "We'll see you back at camp."

Swiftpaw's shoulders slumped as he followed after his mentor. Brackenpaw had padded up to Foxshadow and sat down next to her.

"What did you learn today, Brackenpaw?" she asked him.

Brackenpaw furrowed his brows and looked away, his gaze sweeping the Sandy Hollow. "Nothing is impossible," he meowed finally.

Foxshadow purred. "Exactly. One day, Swiftpaw will figure out how to defeat me, but until then he must remain an apprentice. Not forever, but for however long it takes him to learn the most important lesson of all." She touched her tail to Brackenpaw's forehead with a purr. "Never give up."

* * *

"It has been days since any cat has smelled that fox on our territory," Tigerclaw meowed, fur prickling in irritation. "We need all our warriors hunting and not staying up on guard shifts."

Foxshadow couldn't help but agree with Tigerclaw. She and the senior warriors, Mousefur and Runningwind, had gathered outside of the leader's den and were listening to Tigerclaw speak to Bluestar. After the grueling and disappointing sparring match with Swiftpaw, Foxshadow guessed that her own plans to bring a certain kittypet into the Clans had been even more postponed. With luck, he'd be five moons when they found him and suffering from amnesia.

"Almost all the leaves have fallen," meowed Mousefur.

"The apprentices are getting restless," meowed Runningwind, sounding uncomfortable with speaking among the other warriors. It was times like this that Foxshadow wished Whitestorm was here. Or Lionheart.

"They are hoping to have a short apprenticeship," meowed Foxshadow, shifting uncomfortably and fluffing out her fur. "Despite how much we may need more warriors, we need apprentices as well. Who else can preoccupy their time with taking care of the elders and queens when we are too busy with foxes on our territory?"

Mousefur nodded. "Should we delay their warrior ceremonies?"

"Not Swiftpaw's," meowed Foxshadow. "He'll be ready to become a warrior by the next Gathering."

Tigerclaw shifted uncomfortably at the sounds. "The apprentices will be made warriors when they are ready. Brindleface can take care of our one elder and the queens."

Bluestar looked between her senior warriors thoughtfully. "Does this mean that you all want Ravenfeather and Fireheart on patrol again?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "Ravenfeather and Fireheart are some of our best hunters." _Plus I need him to fetch Cloudkit for me._ "And our queens need as much prey as possible if they are going to continue producing milk for our kits."

Bluestar looked at Mousefur, and the best hunter in ThunderClan nodded. "They aren't as good as me," Mousefur meowed, "but they are better than some other cats."

 _Like Patchpelt_ , Foxshadow thought with an amused purr. The elder was lying on the apprentice's stump, curled up and asleep. With all the other elders having passed away, he was alone in his den. Perhaps being on the night vigil made him feel less alone, especially with Brindleface keeping him company.

"Longtail could replace Brindleface on vigil," meowed Tigerclaw. "Since Brindleface is needed to help keep the kits healthy."

Foxshadow nodded absently and wondered if Brindleface was milking the kits. Sometimes a mother's mammary glands were triggered even when the kits weren't theirs. A prickle of discomfort filled her as she remembered that she hadn't checked on the kits since they were born. Surely Frostfur could understand how busy she was? She felt suddenly horrible, planning to bring yet another kit into the Clans when they barely had enough cats to feed the twelve kits currently in the Clan. Had any died yet? She looked towards the nursery, as if she could divine their safety just by looking at the dark and cold entrance.

"Very well," meowed Bluestar. "I trust that you will do everything for me, Tigerclaw."

Foxshadow flicked her ears and looked back at Bluestar, suddenly annoyed with the queen. Surely, Bluestar could tell this to the Clan herself?

"Yes, Bluestar," meowed Tigerclaw, dipping his head.

Bluestar nodded. "You are all dismissed."

Foxshadow rose to her paws and padded straight for the nursery, careful not to disturb the queens as she stuck her nose into the den. The thick scent of nursery milk and warmth hung in the air and she meowed a greeting as she pulled herself the rest of the way in. Goldenflower and Willowpelt were curled up asleep as their kits nuzzled at their stomachs. Brindleface licked at the kits nuzzled into her own belly and Foxshadow recognized the one and half moon old kits.

"They learned to talk yet?" mewed Foxshadow quietly, padding up beside Brindleface. It was good to see that Brindleface was milking the kits and a flash of guilt filled Foxshadow at the thought of bringing one more among them.

"They try," meowed Brindleface softly and tiredly.

"I'm guessing they don't let you have enough sleep." The massive dark brown-and-white cat glanced over the kits with a worried frown. "Why do you volunteer for the night vigil if you're so tired?"

"To take a break from the kits," she meowed tiredly. "I never wanted kits to begin with, you know? It was always Frostfur's idea. She just never wanted to be alone with them. They've grown on me and I can't imagine being without them."

Grimacing, her heart twisting up, Foxshadow looked around before finally settling down beside Brindleface. "Bluestar is putting Longtail on the night vigil instead of you. I'm sorry, Brindleface. We're really worried about the kits."

Brindleface flattened her ears and looked away, her eyes on the kits. "I understand."

Foxshadow rested her head on Brindleface's shoulder and gazed at the kits. "Have you ever had a litter before?"

"Yes, at first just to see what it was like." Her tail flicked. "Sandstorm was a great daughter and she's the only one of my first litter to survive."

Foxshadow licked Brindleface's shoulder. "Are you afraid of losing your sister's litter?"

"No," meowed Brindleface, "the kits will die when StarClan decides they die."

"That's morbid," Foxshadow meowed. "We shouldn't be thinking like this. We should do what we can for the kits and give them the best possible chance of survival, not be resigned to fate."

"Do you believe in StarClan?" asked Brindleface, curious.

Surprised at the question, Foxshadow thought over what she had said and relaxed. "Of course I do. I just think we should all try to do everything in our power to protect them." She felt she was one of those characters you read about in the books who was questioning their own personal beliefs and how to enforce those beliefs on others. "We shouldn't rely on StarClan to make our decisions for us. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our Clan to make sure we are doing everything we can for everyone we can."

Brindleface purred and looked up at Foxshadow. "Tigerclaw is right. You'll make a great deputy one day."

Foxshadow looked down at Frostfur's kits as a wave of anger and jealousy swept over her. First it was Frostfur then Goldenflower telling her she would make a great queen, and then it was Tigerclaw and now Brindleface telling her she would make a great deputy. Everyone seemed to think that her future was already decided.

Why did she promise to protect Frostfur's kits? The she-cat had it coming, hadn't she? She was so stupidly obnoxious about having kits, then she abandoned Mistlekit by running off and getting pregnant again before her body was ready. Now she was dead and Brindleface was being forced to stay in the nursery all out of a sense of duty when she wanted nothing more than to be free of it. Brindleface wouldn't be like this if Frostfur hadn't died. She would already be on her second litter, with Fernkit and Ashkit.

But Foxshadow couldn't bring herself to say this. These comments about her becoming a deputy were what would help her to succeed in becoming the deputy. Her inner sense of duty forbid it. After all, someone needed to hold that position until Fireheart had finished training his first apprentice.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoy this chapter!  
**


	38. Forest of Secrets pt 11

**A/N: I made a minor correction to Brindleface's dialogue for those of you who read it early! I thought it came off as a bit like she was forced to have kits but that's not entirely accurate. Eh, sorry about that.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Cool! (a) Ahhh, I don't know what else to say on Swiftpaw other than. Same with Runningwind. (b) Ugh, I hate it when I leave out something and it changes the whole situation. Brindleface didn't want kits at first but they eventually grew on her, though she wasn't wanting to deal with another litter especially not after Frostfur's death. I've changed her dialogue slightly to better fit that but I didn't want to explain everything as well.  
**

 **Snowfall: (1) I'm glad you're enjoying reading your first warrior fanfic! Puts a lot more pressure on my as a writer now. (2) Everyone thinks she'd fit into the Clan well, in general, at least according to what they see of her personality. Now, some think she'd make a great deputy and some think she'd make a great queen. Brindleface is among those who believe the former and Frostfur was among those who believe in the latter. (3) *sends hearts* (4) OMG, you're the second person to ask that! Unfortunately, the second POV will only appear in Rising Storm and the Epilogue. You can guess who it's going to be. It's not anyone obvious though. They've made brief no-name appearance and were actually present in the scene of the last chapter... (5) Yes, it's just taking so long to set this up. (6) Still in RiverClan's camp. His story is not as important now so it's sort of fallen to the wayside. He'll show up again soon.  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: Tigerclaw doesn't like Foxshadow beyond thinking of her as being a good warrior and potential asset in his destiny to unite the Clans. As for whether they might become mates... well, Tigerclaw would prefer her to be his mate than a weaker cat but he requires her for other things right now so... I have no plans.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I have doubts that the Warrior Movies is going to turn out good, but I hope it surprises me. I also have doubts that it will ever be completed... but *crosses fingers*.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: That is true, as a cat has to die first before they can receive their nine lives. However, there's no guarantee that StarClan was the one who gave her that power or that they have the power to send her back to the real world after she appears in StarClan. Foxshadow knows this, so she isn't going to put her life on the line before she's had kittens... especially now that she has a guarantee that kitting won't kill her.  
**

 **Guest: Wow! Thank you so much, fellow anonymous! :)  
**

 **Stormbreeze: (Ch12) It's true that Foxface has been used as an insult, which I mentioned before... though you have to remember that Foxheart has also been used as a warrior name and it's also an insult so it's not unlikely that this would happen. It is in poor taste to name someone Mouseheart or Foxheart or Foxface. (Ch16) That is actually easily explained. If Mistykit and Stonekit's names are mentioned at a gathering and they are said to be dead, it wouldn't be entirely farfetched that someone from another Clan might name their kits after them simply because they are now available. (Ch37) I never got that impression about Runningwind, though I did know he was brother to Mousefur in canon (not in this story because it just doesn't makes sense for their current genetics) and he never seemed grumpy. Proud, bold and sometimes angry but never grumpy. Also, CinderXRaven is perfect.  
**

* * *

Dawn light filtered through the branches overhead. Foxshadow rose to her paws and dragged herself outside before her eyes had even opened. Her dreams had been all over the place, with the scent of Raggedstar heavy in them. He was preventing her from dreaming of StarClan or the Dark Forest, but at the same time... she felt like he was having difficulties. Or perhaps this was his way of telling her they needed to talk face-to-face. Her thoughts turned to Mistlepaw.

She padded towards the medicine cat den and sniffed the entrance carefully for any recent smells. The overwhelming scents of the herbs blocked out the scent of Yellowfang and Mistlepaw, and she frowned.

"Mistlepaw?" she meowed.

A cat shuffled around inside and padded out. Flinty yellow eyes stared into sun-gold one.

"What do you want my apprentice for?" rasped Yellowfang, hostility in her voice.

Foxshadow stiffened. "Why do you ask? There's nothing wrong with talking with Mistlepaw, is there? Fireheart seeks you out all the time."

Yellowfang lashed her tail. "Fireheart doesn't know what Mistlepaw's powers are and I don't want you taking advantage of her."

Confusion spread across Foxshadow's face as she struggled to understand why Yellowfang was being suspicious of her. "What has gotten into you?" she asked. "I promised Frostfur I'd take care of her kits. Are you going to stop me from keeping tabs on Mistlepaw?"

Yellowfang narrowed her eyes. "StarClan doesn't like that you tricked her into giving away how many lives Bluestar has left."

"StarClan doesn't approve?" meowed Foxshadow, shocked.

"So I don't want to see you talking to her anymore."

Foxshadow lashed her tail. "Very well. Thank you, Yellowfang."

As Foxshadow padded away, her thoughts were caught up in a whirlwind. Was this why Raggedstar was having problems preventing her from dreaming? Was StarClan fighting him? Weren't they the ones who had given her this power in the first place?

She mentally shook herself. They didn't matter, only ThunderClan did.

Her mate was lying on the other side of the camp near the warrior's den, enjoying a piece of freshkill before he would be dragged away for patrols unknown.

"Dustpelt, I'm going to take Brackenpaw over to the Lion's Trap," meowed Foxshadow. "Do you want to come with us?"

The dusky brown tabby stopped licking a bloody paw and nodded. "That place with all the rabbits, right?"

"Well, if the dog-fox hasn't chased them all off." Foxshadow padded towards the apprentice's den. "That's part of reason I want to go. If the rabbits are all gone, then we might have to look for other sources of prey."

Dustpelt gave out a low growl as he stood up. "We should have chased off that fox when it first showed up."

"It's gone now," meowed Foxsahdow, grateful that she no longer had to worry about Swiftpaw running after that fox. Even though it was strange for the fox to move on when the rabbits were a prime source of food, Foxshadow decided it was better not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Let's just be grateful it didn't hurt anyone."

The dark brown warrior hummed in agreement.

Brackenpaw was already out of the den and walking around camp, doing apprentice chores while all the other apprentices were busy. From his spot outside the elder's den, he perked up when he spotted his mentor heading towards the apprentice's den and darted toward them, surprising Foxshadow who purred.

"We're going training today?" asked Brackenpaw.

"Yes," Foxshadow meowed. "Get Thornpaw. We're going to the Lion's Trap to have a look at the damage that fox might have done to the rabbit's warren."

A flash of disappointment flashed across Brackenpaw's face but he nodded and padded into the apprentice's den. Dustpelt walked up beside Foxshadow, frowning.

"What's wrong with him?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "He might be hankering for some battle training. I've been neglecting that area of his training. I plan to spend the next moon on it though."

"You should focus on it now. We don't know if RiverClan is planning to attack us again."

The dark brown and white she-cat glanced at him, curious. "What's with you and RiverClan?"

The tom was surprised and he grimaced in pain. "I forget that you weren't here for that. My mentor was killed by RiverClan's previous deputy, Oakheart."

Foxshadow felt dumb. "Oh... he's the one Tigerclaw claimed to avenge?"

Dustpelt gave her a weird look. "Claimed?" he echoed.

"From what I've heard something else happened that killed Redtail." Foxshadow licked her paw thoughtfully and turned away. "I've heard from a gathering that it was a pile of rocks that killed Oakheart."

"What?" meowed Dustpelt. "Don't tell me that old medicine cat has lost his senses. Of course he was killed by Tigerclaw."

"Was he really?" meowed Foxshadow. "The RiverClan cats had to drag his corpse out from under rocks, Dustpelt. I think any warrior would recognize a fatal wound like the one Tigerclaw supposedly gave him if that was really what killed him instead of a pile of rocks. A bloody neck is far different from a smashed body with blood coming out of the mouth."

Dustpelt growled, fur prickling. "Why would Tigerclaw lie?"

The golden-eyed she-cat looked at her mate with a thoughtful expression. "What reason would he have to kill Redtail?"

The tom's stunned silence made Foxshadow nervous and she looked away, realizing that Brackenpaw and Thornpaw was waiting for them to stop talking. If she had to guess, she would have thought Brackenpaw silenced his brother so they could eaves drop. They both had a guilty expression on their face and Brackenpaw looked like he wanted to ask her a question.

"It can wait," meowed Foxshadow quickly, annoyance making her tone slightly biting. In a way, she was talking to both Dustpelt and Brackenpaw, but she didn't clarify. She gestured with her tail for them to follow and padded towards the entrance and out into the forest where the birds chirped happily and the cold air ruffled her thick fur. She turned her head towards the apprentices as she padded toward their destination. "We're going to check and see what damage the dog-fox has done at Lion's Trap."

Brackenpaw and Thornpaw nodded, but refrained from responding, both looking distracted. Foxshadow guessed they were thinking about what she had been saying about Tigerclaw. Her fur prickled in irritation and she made a mental note to reprimand Brackenpaw for overhearing conversation he wasn't privy to. Despite his natural curiosity, Brackenpaw needed to learn when it was appropriate, even if it could give him answers as to why Foxshadow was too busy to properly train him when she wasn't overseeing Swiftpaw's training. She made a mental note to set aside a week just to focus on Brackenpaw's training and, since Swiftpaw's assessment could be postponed to the end of the month, she felt like she had plenty of time to work on it in the days to come, if nothing bad happened while Fireheart fetched Cloudkit.

The stench of rotting carcasses and dead rabbits filled the air and made the whole patrol pause. Foxshadow felt her stomach twist but she swallowed her bile and pushed her way through the bushes, foregoing any pretense at hiding. Lion's Trap was strangely devoid of animals anywhere, except for two rabbit carcasses that had been left out to rot at the top of the hill.

"Rotten crowfood," growled Dustpelt.

Fox-scent mingled with the smell of death and Foxshadow wrinkled her sensitive nose, eyes stinging at the smell.

"It get's worse further south," meowed Brackenpaw as he lead his brother into the southernmost bushes. Dustpelt ran after him and, after a moment, Foxshadow reluctantly followed. There were three more carcasses lying out in the open and one draped over a bush, and not a living rabbit to be found.

"We should bury them," meowed Foxshadow.

"What?" asked Dustpelt.

"The scent is going to drive away the other rabbits if it hasn't already." Foxshadow guessed the carcasses had been rotting out here for about seven hours. "We need them for prey once leafbare ends. Maybe we can convince them to stay with the smell gone."

Dustpelt nodded thoughtfully at her explanation. "Let's get to work then."

"Stay close to your mentors," meowed Foxshadow.

The four cats split into two teams to dispose of the bodies. Foxshadow paused to sniff for the dog-fox, but she couldn't tell if the scent was stale or not. It could be waiting just out of sight, keeping its scent away from the rabbits, and none of them would be able to see it. After a quick glance around that revealed nothing, she bent her head and dragged the nearest rabbit to it's shallow grave. A few hours later, they regrouped at the top of Lion's Trap.

"I hope the rabbits come back," meowed Brackenpaw.

"I hope so, too," meowed Foxshadow. "The Clan could use the freshkill."

Dustpelt huffed. "ThunderClan isn't supposed to be eating WindClan's prey."

"When prey is poor, we should eat what we can and not complain," meowed Foxshadow, a tiny bit sharp. "We should hunt. Dustpelt, take Thornpaw west. I'll hunt around here with my apprentice."

Brackenpaw shifted in excitement as Dustpelt lead Thornpaw away. Foxshadow turned away, tail twitching.

"Try to catch a squirrel, just like before," she told Brackenpaw. "And stay away from that area south."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I'm going to go looking for a fox and I don't want you around if we get into a fight." It was a half-truth, but Foxshadow sincerely hoped that she wouldn't run into a fox. "I'll be near twolegplace. Sometimes foxes like whatever trash the twolegs throw out."

Brackenpaw wilted in disappointment but nodded solemnly. "I'll hunt in treecutplace."

Foxshadow flicked an ear at him. "Try tallpines instead. Careful of the branches; pine trees have fragile branches and can't handle much weight, but squirrels find it easier to make nests in their trunks."

The pale brown tabby nodded and padded off, leaving Foxshadow alone. The brown and white she-cat gave the clearing one last glance around before vaulting up the nearest tree and racing through the tree branches towards twolegplace and Princess' house. She halted at the edge of the forest, peering down into the garden for the cream and white tabby but she was nowhere to be found. Foxshadow settled into the branch to wait, the sun creeping across the sky at a snail's pace. It was long after she suspected that Dustpelt and Brackenpaw had finished hunting, passed sunhigh, when Fireheart emerged from the undergrowth. He perched on the fenceline, his fur bristling self-consciously, and waited patiently for Princess to make her appearance. They didn't have to wait long. The cream and white tabby padded primly out of the twoleg nest, launching herself clumsily and confidently up onto the fence beside Fireheart. Foxshadow knew right away that she had a litter of kits inside somewhere and, from the size of the white bundle in her mouth, she knew they were no older than Frostfur's kits.

She dug her claws into the bark, resisting the urge to scream. Now she would have to wait until the kits were grown, apprenticed and made warriors, before Fireheart could become a deputy. That was more than six moons away and she knew that Tigerclaw wouldn't wait that long.

Foxshadow couldn't hear what they were saying. She waited until Fireheart started to pad away before leaping to the next tree branch and intercepting him before he could get too far.

"You should have given it back to her," she practically hissed. "We don't have enough milk to feed all the kits in the whole of the forest!"

Startled, Fireheart almost dropped the white furball and gently put it down, shoulder fur prickling. "You were watching me?"

"No, I was hunting," she meowed. "You were talking to your sister."

"You recognized her?"

"Of course I did," meowed Foxshadow. "You've sentenced who knows how many kits to starve to death with this stunt, Fireheart."

His shoulders slumped. "I couldn't say no."

"The Clan will," hissed Foxshadow, "especially if they know you could have said no. They will kill him unless you can come up with a better explanation than 'because your sister gave it to you'."

Fireheart grew silent, staring down at the tiny kitten between his forepaws before looking up at her, tail twitching nervously. "What are you going to do?"

Foxshadow blinked and stared at the white tom. With him at such a young age, they didn't have to worry about him remembering their conversation and contradicting anything they said. Though a part of her wanted nothing more to send him back, the fact that Fireheart had found him in this reality meant he was supposed to be a member of ThunderClan. They couldn't fight fate.

"I have an idea," she meowed. "Loners, especially queens, cross the Thunderpath all the time and sometimes this could lead to accidents. Why don't we just tell the Clan we found him at the side of the road and his mother was lying dead nearby? Surely the Clan wouldn't turn away a kit in desperate need of a mother?" Thoughts of the queens running out of milk because of too many kittens in the nursery made her almost sick to her stomach, especially since she know half of those kits weren't even supposed to be alive. They were the ones most likely to die. Foxshadow hadn't thought this through. "If they don't reject him outright, there's still the possibility that he'll be blamed for the deaths of any kit already in the nursery."

Fireheart looked stricken. "They wouldn't. He's just a kit."

"Then they will blame me," meowed Foxshadow. "Because everyone knows my bleeding heart for kits."

"What?"

The massive she-cat stepped forward. "Give me the kit, Fireheart."

The orange tabby seemed to shrink down on himself, his eyes wide and staring beyond her. His voice became high with terror. "Foxshadow..."

"Give me the kit," meowed Foxshadow again, glancing reflexively over her shoulder before freezing. A heartbeat later, she padded over to him and had whipped around, claws extended defensively.

The dog-fox gave a low snarl, his yellow gaze switching between Fireheart and Foxshadow before landing hungrily on Cloudkit.

* * *

 **A/N: I pity the warrior cat whose name is Hartheart.**

 **Updates will be irregular until the semester's over in four weeks. Sorry fellahs. How you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!  
**


	39. Forest of Secrets pt 12

**A/N: Heyo! Been a while! Been busy with school. It'll be a week before I have any real free time. Here's something I did while procrastinating. Also, lemonkix on deviantart posted a fanart of Foxshadow (art/Foxshadow-Pixel-Art-717049919)! Check it out!  
**

 **AnonChan1: (B) Baaah, looking back over it the dialogue seems so forced. *angry hand noises* (1 &2) Your memory is correct. Goosefeather doesn't support her but he's not the only one upset over Foxshadow's interference/existence... just as Raggedstar isn't the only one looking out for her. I can neither confirm nor deny Frostfur's position right now, however. (3) Yup. I'm surprised the Erins didn't go with that in canon. (4) We shall see... next chapter. (5) Foxshadow is one of those people who gives themselves way too much to do, methinks. (6) It's ALIVE! ...maybe.  
**

 **sierra_stanley_52: *evil Salem laughter*  
**

 **S1L3NT: *evil Salem laughter x2*  
**

 **Snowfall: (1/2/3) Thank you. You just wait and see. (4) Yes, I did what RWBY until Pyrrha died. PyrrhaXJaune forever.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Foxshadow is the Frolic King! x3  
**

 **Stormbreeze: It's a bit of stretch but in the end it depends on how you write one of their stories. Also, sorry, but I've already selected all the names. Their warrior names are already listed on my profile under "Forestfire's Faith", at least six of them and all of the same litter. I will tell you that they are three males and three females among them.  
**

 **warriorlife27: (ch7 & 8) Thank you so much! Ever since I saw Raggedstar's warrior name, I knew Yellowfang had to have named Cinderpelt after him. It just makes sense.**

 **wildtrance: I applaud thee! Yes, that dog-fox is that same fox she injured. Too bad Foxshadow doesn't recognize him. He sure recognizes her though... and ready to take his revenge. LOL. Mistlepaw is indeed heterochromatic. I tried to put as many asexual and bisexual characters into the story as possible. TBH, Fireheart has always felt a bit bi to me. Also, Barley and Ravenpaw are both canonically homosexual, but in this story he's bi.  
**

 **Hazel Ashwood: (ch13) I'm afraid I couldn't do Foxclaw because of there already being one in canon. I also couldn't do Foxfire because I didn't want her associated with Fireheart's prophecy. Foxspirit is a great name for a StarClan cat though...  
**

 **lemon: Thank you so much for the fanart! And yes, Foxshadow has been keeping track of the moons! She is very aware of how much time she has.  
**

* * *

Foxshadow felt every hair on her body stand on end. Her mouth opened and words tumbled out, her voice strangely calm and a million miles away.

"Take the kit back to camp and tell them that I found it. Tell them nothing else. Go, now!"

The orange tabby moved so quickly that he was a blurr. His head dipped and picked up the white kit as he shot to his paws and darted into the words towards ThunderClan camp. Immediately, the fox moved to follow but Foxshadow slammed into his side and made him stagger.

The dog-fox forgot about Fireheart and turned to Foxshadow, eyes blazing with fury and rage. He was a far cry from the skittish vixen Foxshadow had first met when she had first come to ThunderClan territory and nothing like the panicking old dog-fox she had chased off ThunderClan territory when she was still an apprentice. He was the typical fox she had read about in the warrior cat books - serious, bloodthirsty and bent on eating the kitten

Puffing out her fur until she was twice her size, her lips twisted back into a snarl and her mouth open wide in a vulpine fighting stance, Foxshadow charged at him, feinting for his hindquarters with her claws. He twisted to defend himself, jaws snapping at air. She felt his hot breath on her whiskers and bit his muzzle, tightening her grip when he whipped around and clawed at her face with a paw. She flinched and twisted her neck around to escape his painful claws, feeling hot wet blood swell across her neck and face. A whine escaped the dog-fox's throat and he started to sink to the ground in defeat, and she forced herself to wait until he was lying on the ground before releasing him, blinking blood out of her eyes.

She heard him scramble to his paws and heard his bark of anger before she jerked back and reared, claws extended as she slammed her outstretched claws blindly down. She felt her claws tug at his fur, missing skin and let her legs collapse under her as she hit the ground. A snap of teeth over her head told her that he had missed. She twisted and rolled away so her one good eye could focus, blurry with pain, on the dog-fox's ginger, white and brown body. The fox snarled and lashed his tail, lowering his head and cocking his open maw towards her, his dark orange eyes blazing. Her tail lashed, fox-like, in contemplation and she fixed her face in a snarl.

The dog-fox lunged, teeth snapped for her neck. She spun in a circle, heart pounding as the dog-fox kept snapping at air a tail's width away from her face. She blinked away the blood and water which was blinding her, and she refocused on the angry fox's dark orange eyes. She leaped and twisted in the air, causing the fox to back off wearily, before landing exactly where she had launched off. Lunging for the fox's throat, Foxshadow turned tables on the fox and put it on the defensive. Her teeth snapped at fur and air, barely missing the fox's throat.

Realizing they were evenly matched, Foxshadow decided to do something unexpected. She turned and bolted into the forest, racing across familiar territory and searching for some place she could find an advantage. The ground sloped up underneath her and she turned south, launching herself off the top of Lion's Trap and twisting around to spring. The fox came full pelt behind her, giving a startled yelp as the ground dropped out in front of him and he came tumbling and skidding down into the trap. She waited patiently for him to come to a stop at the bottom and lunged before he could stand up, her teeth clamping down on his throat.

Shrieking and yelping, the fox thrashed in her grip, heavy claws struggling to land blows on her sides and stomach. She crouched down and felt his hindlegs slam into her side, but the resulting force merely pushed his own hindquaters backwards instead of push her over. She stayed close to the ground, letting her own weight and gravity keep her from being knocked over so easily. Finally, the dog-fox began to quiet. He gave a low whine, a pleading yelp, before his body relaxed in defeat. Foxshadow could still feel blood pulsing through his body, though it had begun to slow as his adrenaline had passed and his new injury caught up to him.

Her mind was blank with rage, and she didn't let go until she could no longer feel her pulse underneath her tongue. When she stood up, she blinked the blood out of her eye and remembered the pain of his claws racking down her face and neck. If she didn't return to camp, her wounds were likely to become infected. As she turned to head towards camp, the distant sound of pounding paws made her tense and crouch, suddenly afraid that ShadowClan was coming to attack her. A heartbeat later, the cats burst from the undergrowth and they familiar scent made her relax in relief.

Dustpelt stood panting at the head of the patrol, his tail raised to signal the others to stop. He stared at Foxshadow first and then gave the fox at her paws a dismissive glance before he bounded over it to touch noses with her.

"Are you all right?" he meowed, looking pointedly at the bloody half of her face.

"I don't think he got my eye," she meowed, "but my good looks might be ruined."

"You had good looks?" asked Dustpelt, a touch of confused sincerity in his voice. Foxshadow bopped his nose with her own before padding around him to greet the others.

"Tigerclaw, Runningwind, Swiftpaw," she meowed with a slight dip of her head. "Is there a problem back at camp?"

Runningwind blinked in awe and stared at her for a long quiet moment. Swiftpaw looked perplexed. Tigerclaw's expression was neutral but he gave a pleased purr.

"No," he meowed. "We were worried about you, but it seems our worries were unfounded."

"You were all worried about me?" asked Foxshadow, with a glance at Swiftpaw.

"Not really," the apprentice meowed with a sniff. "I knew you'd win no matter what."

"Your confidence in my ability is welcome, Swiftpaw," Foxshadow meowed with a purr. "You should commend your mentor as well for being one of the few cats who could defeat me in a sparring match."

Tigerclaw glanced at Runningwind in surprise but quickly looked away. The silvered brown tabby ducked his head, fur rippling with the praise.

ThunderClan's deputy meowed loudly. "We should return you to camp and have Yellowfang look at that eye. I'm sure the Clan will be pleased to hear that the fox is dead."

The massive she-cat blinked. "Yes."

"I'll carry this back for you," meowed Dustpelt.

"Put it on the RiverClan border," meowed Foxshadow dismissively. "They doubted that I could fight a fox and now they can smell for themselves who killed one."

Dustpelt purred. "Good idea! It will show those mangey kittypets what a real warrior can do."

Tigerclaw nodded. "Runningwind and Swiftpaw will go with you. Stop by the camp on your way and come back after you've marked the border."

Foxshadow purred. "A battle patrol turned border patrol? How efficient."

The three ThunderClan warriors bent to the task of carrying the fox away towards ThunderClan camp. Tigerclaw waved for Foxshadow to linger behind so they could follow at the back of the patrol. Tigerclaw kept his voice steady and low, and Foxshadow guessed he didn't want anyone else to hear their conversation.

"Fireheart told us that you found a kit on the border," meowed Tigerclaw. "I'm surprised you would do such a thing after pointing out how little milk our own kits have."

"The warrior code demands that we protect kits, even those from other Clans." Foxshadow kept her voice low and glanced absently at Dustpelt. "The kit is a descendant of Pinestar. I recognized his mother's dead body. I could not leave him with this knowledge."

Tigerclaw's calm face sent a chill up Foxshadow's spine. "ThunderClan will appreciate the return of old blood," he meowed evenly, "but he might have too much kittypet blood in him."

"Perhaps, but his white coat suggests that he has been born with a sharp nose. He will make a great hunter during the harshest of leaf-bare, just like Frostfur's kits."

Tigerclaw's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You have thought this through. I was mistaken in thinking that this was purely an emotional decision."

The brown-and-white she-cat dipped her head. "I am pleased to have changed your opinion of me. I should probably explain myself to the rest of the Clan so they do not continue to think the same."

He nodded. "When you have finished with Swiftpaw's training, I want to speak with you afterwards."

"You mean, once I complete Brackenpaw's training."

"Yes. How is his training coming along?"

"He is an excellent hunter, but he could use more battle training. I've barely been over the basics and that was only because of the tensions between us and RiverClan. What is the situation with them currently? Do they still think Graystripe is a murderer?"

"I do not know."

Foxshadow frowned. "If only we knew what made them come to that conclusion. Perhaps one of our apprentices became over zealous in one of his stories and mixed up some information."

"Yes, I can imagine Ravenfeather doing something like that."

Foxshadow twitched her tail-tip nervously. "Such as his story that Raggedstar was the one who killed Redtail at Sunningrocks." She shook her head, feigning exasperation. "Every time I hear his story, I swear it becomes more and more fantastical."

If Foxshadow hadn't known about the true story behind Redtail's death, she probably would never have thought twice about Tigerclaw's shoulders relaxing a fraction. He gave a soft purr. "Yes, Ravenfeather does love his stories."

"Raggedstar has been inspriring a lot of his stories," meowed Foxshadow slowly. "I think he has a story about Raggedstar fought against DarkClan with us at the Gathering and threw Brokenstar into the gorge."

"How strange," meowed Tigerclaw, his tone mildly dismissive but mostly distracted.

"Indeed. In fact, a lot of cats claim to have seen him at the Gathering." Foxshadow twitched her whiskers and looked out of the corner of her eye at Tigerclaw. "Maybe Raggedstar was present when Redtail died."

Tigerclaw shook his head, his voice firm. "Redtail was killed by Oakheart and I avenged him."

Foxshadow gave a shallow nod and grew silent. They were slowly approaching the camp when Dustpelt finally let out a yowl to announce their presence. Her ears perked up at the sound of the camp stirring in excitement and she felt energy pulse through her paws and she leaped easily over the camp entrance. A bunch of cats jumped when she suddenly appeared but she ignored their surprised sounds and padded towards the medicine cat den.

"Yellowfang? Mistlepaw?" she meowed.

A familiar raspy voice meowed, "You stay with him," before the dark gray and flinty eyed medicine cat emerged. Yellowfang took one look at Foxshadow's bloody face and gestured with her tail towards the prisoner's den. "You know the routine," she rasped tiredly.

Foxshadow purred but paused before padding away. "Is the kit okay?"

"He's fine, just hungry." Yellowfang had a biting edge to her voice and she turned away. "I'll bring you a poultice and some cobwebs. Ask your mate to lick the blood clean."

The massive she-cat nodded and turned away. The Clan's attention had turned to the fox corpse at the center of camp and they were cautiously leaning down to sniff Foxshadow's kill. An excited murmuring had filled the camp and Dustpelt's fur was puffed out in pride, as if the kill had been his. Foxshadow purred as she padded over.

"Let's hear it for Foxshadow!" yowled Runningwind. "Slayer of the fox!"

" _Foxshadow! Foxshadow!"_

She halted and dipped her head in embarrassment. "Thank you," she meowed, before raising her voice. "Thank you, all of you! But I must remind you all that in tracking down this fox I also found a kit, one who is descendant of Pinestar."

A hush fell over the Clan, listening with rapt attention to whatever Foxshadow had to say as she continued. "When I looking for the fox on the ShadowClan border, hoping to find evidence that it had finally left our territory for good, I instead found the body of a queen. She was familiar to me and I could not figure out why until I sniffed her. Despite the smell of the monsters on her, I immediately recognized the smell of Fireheart's mother. She was not Nutmeg, daughter of Pinestar, but she looked similar enough that I could only assume she was Nutmeg's daughter. I moved to bury her at the side of the Thunderpath when I heard the sound of a kit's mewl. When I searched around, following this she-cat's scent, I found the white tom hidden in a path under the Thunderpath. I knew right away that the kit belonged to Nutmeg's daughter and I could not in good conscious let this kit die. He has a white coat, which is a sign he will one day have a sharp nose. He will make a great hunter for ThunderClan. I thought long and hard about looking for the rest of the litter, but I knew if I saw them I would not be able to turn them away, especially if they held the same promise that this kit did. I knew that there were kits waiting back in ThunderClan who need our queen's milk and even this one kit would potentially cause others to starve before he himself died. But I carried him back with me to ThunderClan territory anyway and I came across Fireheart. He challenged me on where I had found the kit and I told him what I have told you. Before we could decide what to do with the kitten, this fox appeared. My instincts took over and I ended up killing the fox." She dipped her head and flattened her ears, expecting a reprimand for her actions.

"I see," meowed Bluestar from the top of the Highrock. "It seems StarClan was with this kit today to have sent you to protect him." Her gaze drifted to the medicine cat den. "I see you have thought hard about taking this kitten in and, because you defeated this fox, I can only assume that StarClan has tested and approved of your decision. However, it is the Clan who must decide whether this kit can stay in our midst."

A low murmur filled the Clan and Foxshadow licked her suddenly dry lips nervously. The Clan was usually against kittypets joining the Clan, but ever since Darkstripe's death it had been less biased against kittypets.

"Our kits need this milk, Bluestar," meowed Longtail, his brow furrowed in hard concentration. "We should not accept another kit, especially since we already have white kits in the Clan." He gave Foxshadow an almost apologetic look before looking away.

"The kit is descended of Pinestar," meowed Tigerclaw slowly. "That makes him my kin. I cannot say that we should abandon him but I believe Foxshadow had thought long and hard about bringing this kit into the Clan. She came to the best decisions any of us could have come to at the time." Meows of agreement greeted his words. Tigerclaw's eyes sparkled. "I do not need to remind you that we need warriors. Perhaps we should let nature sort this out and let the strongest of the kits survive. If he can survive the winter, than he is worthy to be a warrior of ThunderClan."

"Not all Clan kittens survive the winter," meowed Longtail in protest, looking at Tigerclaw in confusion. "We should consider them first."

"Longtail is right," meowed Foxshadow, flattening her ears and struggling to keep her emotions in check. "My judgement is clouded, even if I put a lot of thought into this. There is a strong possibility that many of our kittens will die regardless of whether or not this kit is brought into the nursery, but more are likely to die with his inclusion. Should we really obey the warrior code even at the cost of our kits lives? I thought about this long and hard when I found the kit. But following the warrior code was never supposed to be easy." Her tail-tip flicked nervously. "If we are to call ourselves warriors, we must follow the warrior code as best as we can. To not follow it is to become like rogues."

"But it's a kittypet," meowed Longtail, his voice quiet in protest.

" _He_ has Clan blood," Tigerclaw practically growled. "I will accept him as a member of ThunderClan."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the Clan. Bluestar's gaze swept the Clan and her twitched thoughtfully. "Very well," she meowed solemnly. "I will inform the queens of the news."

Foxshadow relaxed and felt the anxiety in her belly melt away. She padded over to Dustpelt with a purr.

"I need someone to help lick the blood off my face," she meowed. "Would you like to help?"

Dustpelt nodded and rose to his paws. "Sure."

Foxshadow padded to the prisoner's den and blinked warmly at Yellowfang, who sat impatiently outside of the den. "Sorry, we were busy."

The old she-cat snorted. "Just sit down and let me clean your neck."

Squirming underneath their rough tongues, Foxshadow waited patiently as cobwebs were applied to her neck and cheek. Her eye was going to be fine but a deep, long scar would run from her eye and half-way down her neck. She licked the white spot of fur on her shoulder, remembering how her wounds tended to become covered in white fur. Most of them had been surface injuries and she wasn't sure that her neck scar would grow back properly.

"Does it look bad?" she asked Dustpelt.

"You look fine," meowed Dustpelt before purring.

"Are you sure?" Foxshadow licked her shoulder again. "Do I look... pretty?"

"I didn't become your mate for your looks, you know," meowed Dustpelt, pausing to give her worried expression a long look. "You'll always be beautiful, Foxshadow, no matter what."

Foxshadow relaxed a fraction and purred. "And my looks can keep other toms from chasing after my tail, yeah?"

The dark brown tom rumbled a purr and licked his chest in embarrassment. "I trust you not to chase after anyone else."

Letting out a soft laugh, Foxshadow leaned into Dustpelt's shoulder, careful not to irritate her cobwebs. "You'll always be the most beautiful tom in the whole forest, Dustpelt, and beyond it to even StarClan." Foxshadow enjoyed the faint rumble in Dustpelt's chest, her thoughts turning to Cloudkit. "I want to adopt the white tom."

Dustpelt jerked in surprise. "What?"

"I don't want you to feel like you need to adopt him too," meowed Foxshadow quickly. "You can hate him for all I care. I just want you to know that I am going to adopt him."

"Okay." His tail lashed slowly and angrily, and Foxshadow knew he didn't like it. "You can adopt him."

"There is no 'can' about it, Dustpelt. I am going to adopt him whether you like it or not. I just want to know you don't have to like him. I understand how you feel about kittypets, but I have to do this."

"Why?" he demanded, anger rippling through his pelt.

"For Snowkit, for Frostfur, for Whitestorm," meowed Foxshadow firmly. "I won't let another white cat die when I can prevent it."

They stared challenging at each other for what felt like forever. Finally, Dustpelt relaxed. "Okay, you do what you want, and you're right, I won't accept him. He will always be a kittypet to me."

* * *

 **A/N: I said the updates would be spotty. :P Until December 6.  
**

 **Also, Foxshadow's kittens names have been confirmed. I will not be taking in names for her second litter, so no suggestions please.**


	40. Forest of Secrets pt 13

**A/N: Apologizes for not lackluster responses to reviews. I just finished 8-9 projects for school and I'm beat.**

 **sierra_stanley_52: LOL. That is hilarious and I love it! Cloudtail mentoring one Dustpelt's kits would surely make him explode with tonnes of fluff.**

 **AnonChan1: (A) LOL! (B) Yeah. Fireheart fled the scene before it could get Cloudkit. Dustpelt is so proud. (C) That would be awesome!**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Let's see (in order); Death Note, My Hero Academia, Madoka Magica Puella Magi, One Punch Man, Tiger & Bunny, Punch Line, Ajin, and a couple of others. Can't remember them all right now. There's a few I want to watch but haven't yet because of reasons.  
**

* * *

Foxshadow stirred at the sounds of kits mewling and started at the feel of kits nuzzling into her stomach. She opened her eyes and blinked at the near total darkness of the prisoner's den, the sounds of the nursery fading. She could smell the faint smell of milk, of a familiar ThunderClan she-cat, and the stronger smell of Dustpelt, who stood beside her.

"Dustpelt?"

The dusky brown tom halted and turned to blink at her, his amber eyes glowing slightly in the morning sunlight. "Yes, Foxshadow?"

"Is Mousefur still on the dawn patrol?"

"No," meowed Dustpelt. "It's me, Runningwind and Swiftpaw. We're checking the RiverClan border."

With a yawn, Foxshadow rose and stretched, wincing as the cobwebs tugged at her wounds. "It's a quarter moon until the Gathering. I should focus on Brackenpaw's training. We should be out all day today."

"What about the kit?" asked Dustpelt. "Are you going to name it?"

"I was going to visit him first."

The warrior nodded and padded out of the den, tail-tip flickering. "See you tonight," he meowed over his shoulder before padding towards the entrance."

"Hmm," meowed Foxshadow, contemplating curling up to sleep some more before forcing herself to her paws.

As she stepped out into the camp, the brisk leafbare wind and the cold sunlight made her shiver. The trees were skeletons, the leaves at their roots, covering the ground in mulch. A frosty layer of dew covered the ground and Foxshadow was grateful that her hard black pawpads protected her from their icy touch. She padded into the nursery, blinking tiredly into the darkness. Her ears twitched at the noises of the kits mewling, but they sounded strangely fainter than before.

"DarkClan will be judged in three moons," meowed Goldenflower, glancing towards her and stopping. "Hello, Foxshadow."

"Hope I'm not interrupting," she meowed with a yawn. "Where's my kit?"

Brindleface lifted her head and purred in amusement. "Pinestar's kit is over here."

Foxshadow flicked an ear at the name and padded over, easily identifying the small fluffy tom from Frostfur's kits. She realized that her first assessment of Cloudkit was correct. "They all look the same age," she meowed, sniffing the moon-and-a-half white tom thoughtfully. Her gaze drifted towards the only black tabby tom among the litter, and she blinked in shock as two hate-filled yellow eyes stared back.

 _A kit doesn't develop colored eyes until they reach three moons, around the same time that they are fully weaned._

Foxshadow felt her fur stand on end as she stared down at the familiar black tabby tom, the spitting image of Darkstripe. "What was his name again?"

"Darkkit," meowed Brindleface. "He was named after their father."

Cold horror settled into her stomach, and Foxshadow realized with a start that all her omens had always been about Frostfur, her kits and their father. Whitestorm and his pelt had been pure coincidence, but his amber eyes marked him as a different kind of white cat, one with a full white-spotted gene instead of the dominant white of Frostfur or the albino white of Iceclaw. Underneath that white coat was a grey spotted tabby cat with amber eyes, possibly like his mother and his aunt's daughter and son, but the white spots covered it all up. His kits confirmed it. Not a single one of them was white, their pelts as gray as their mother's or darker, like Whitestorm's would have been if he didn't have a white-spotted gene.

Foxshadow tore her gaze away from Willowpelt's kits and licked her lips. "I came to name him," she meowed finally. "His name is going to be Cloudkit."

Brindleface nodded, purring. "Cloudkit is a good name."

The sound of Willowpelt shifting in her nest made Foxshadow's ear twitch, but she refused to look at Willowpelt and ignored the weariness in her voice. "Do you mind if I ask why you named him that?"

Foxshadow licked her chest to flatten her horror-spiked fur, and give her a moment to think an answer. Her thoughts turned to SkyClan. "I named him after a strong leader of SkyClan, who died long before I was born. His name was Cloudstar. I hope Cloudkit can learn a lot from Cloudstar's story, when he is old enough for me to tell it."

The queens murmured in approval, but Foxshadow regretted her words immediately. Cloudstar was kicked out of his territory because there were only four trees at Fourtrees, Cloudstar failed to properly establish his Clan elsewhere and failed to help them adapt to a new territory. Cloudstar was only strong enough for the journey but couldn't keep going after that. It was like she had cursed Cloudkit with a legacy of failure.

"It's a good name," meowed Brindleface, touching her nose to Cloudkit's soft pelt. "He's as fluffy as a cloud."

Foxshadow flattened her ears and stood up. "I need to train my apprentice. I'll bring you all some prey before we go."

Goldenflower perked up. "Thanks, Foxshadow."

"Take care of Cloudkit," meowed Foxshadow, her voice heavy with regret as she turned away and padded out. A brief scent of a strange tom made her pause, but the scent faded quickly. She paused at this omen, tail twitching anxiously.

 _I can't ask Mistlepaw about it,_ she thought, padding towards the freshkill pile. _I can't go to the Moonstone or I'll die. I can't dream about StarClan to ask them or else I'll die._

Absently, Foxshadow sank her teeth into the tails of two different squirrels and carried them back to the queens. She felt their bones scrape against her teeth but was too distracted to notice.

"Foxshadow!"

Foxshadow halted a foxlength from the nursery and turned hopefully towards the voice. Mistlepaw padded up to her and dropped a pile of leaves at her paws while practically bouncing in excitement.

"Who is the new tom?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Cloudkit," meowed Foxshadow, but she knew that Mistlepaw wasn't talking about the new kit.

"But he looks like a fully grown tom," meowed Mistlepaw, confused.

Foxshadow sighed, regretting her next words. "You're mentor has forbidden that we talk, Mistlepaw. You shouldn't be telling me about the cats no one else can see."

"But," meowed Mistlepaw, suddenly distressed, "you're the only one who _wants_ to talk about them." She hesitated. "Right?"

"Yes, but StarClan doesn't like it when you talk with me and I'd rather not get on their bad side." Foxshadow glanced around, wondering if any StarClan cats were present. Would they be more willing to back off of Raggedstar if she promised not to speak with Mistlepaw?

"Oh," meowed Mistlepaw. "You heard what Goosefeather said."

Snorting, Foxshadow looked away. "I can't hear any of those cats, Mistlepaw. I'm giving my best educated guess considering how I'm dreaming even more now than before."

"Dreaming? Dreaming about what? Are you a medicine cat, too?"

"Nothing like that. Raggedstar and I have an agreement concerning my power. He won't let me dream and I won't accidentally end up dead one morning before I have decided." Foxshadow glanced around, wondering if the new tom was watching. Was he here to support her or was he here to keep Raggedstar in check? They were probably unhappy that Raggedstar had personally killed Brokenstar.

"Oh, that makes sense."

An awkward silent pause followed, but from the way Mistlepaw's right ear twitched Foxshadow knew that she listening to the StarClan cats speak. She was frowning, too, but Foxshadow decided to ignore that.

"Unless Frostfur is here to scold me about not taking care of her kits like I should be," Foxshadow meowed, "I think I should be getting this to the queens. Have a good day, Mistlepaw."

The white she-cat didn't react at first but suddenly jump at something silent, rounding on Foxshadow. "Wait! He wants me to tell you something!"

"Then talk on the way," meowed Foxshadow, scooping up the squirrels and padding the two foxlengths to the nursery.

"It's about Cloudkit! He wanted to say 'Thank you'."

Foxshadow halted and turned, confused. Could it be the tom's father? "Whitestorm?" she asked, wondering if the old warrior had an affair with Princess that Willowpelt didn't know about.

Mistlepaw blinked. "Uhm, no. He said 'Thank you for remembering me and SkyClan'."

The massive she-cat fluffed out her long brown-and-white fur in pride, her bright red underfur flashing in the sunlight. She raised a paw and upturned it to reveal her black pawpads. She hoped the SkyClan ancestor could see it and wasn't standing behind her. "I will always remember my ancestor's Clan." With that, Foxshadow turned and entered the nursery, dropping the prey at Goldenflower's paws.

"I hope this is enough," meowed Foxshadow. "I think the Clan's going to have my whiskers for taking this much from the freshkill pile."

The yellow tabby purred and took a squirrel, bringing it straight to Brindleface. Willowpelt wearily picked up the second squirrel and dragged it over to her kits. Foxshadow waited for Goldenflower to return.

"You were talking about DarkClan earlier," Foxshadow meowed with a tired yawn. "Has leaf-bare really started?"

"Yes," meowed Goldenflower, her whiskers twitching in amusement. "All the trees are bare."

Foxshadow opened her mouth to say something and stopped. "Cheeky," she meowed with a purr. "How old are the kits?"

"Two and a half moons," meowed Brindleface, giving her legs a stretch as the kits suckled. "Trying to keep them in the nursery is hard."

"They've started eating solid food," added Willowpelt quickly with a nervous meow.

"They woke up at moonhigh," meowed Goldenflower, sounding amused and tired. "We just put them to sleep."

"Do they talk now?" Foxshadow asked, looking at Cloudkit. She hadn't heard the kit speak on the journey.

"They try," meowed Brindleface. "They will learn to speak better at three moons, and then, they will be begging to become apprentices."

Foxshadow nodded absently _._ _No wonder Brokenstar that they would make good apprentices at only three moons.  
_ "Cloudkit will be wondering where he came from around that time, won't he?"

"Perhaps," meowed Brindleface, growing silent.

Foxshadow suddenly wished that she and Brindleface could have trade places. Her gaze drifted to Brindleface's half-swollen belly and Foxshadow knew Brindleface was already contemplating giving birth to kits. She was reminded of the sounds of kits mewling that morning and wondered if it was an omen or promise about a future litter she was going to have. She shook herself and reminded herself that she won't be able to have kits if she became leader and she had to focus on taking the deputy position and doing something about Tigerclaw.

"I should go," she meowed. "I've been neglecting my apprentice enough."

As she padded out of the medicine cat den, she smelled the strange tom's scent from before and paused. She forced herself to look ahead and kept her voice low.

"Is that you, Cloudstar?"

The scent grew briefly stronger before it died off. Foxshadow felt a wave of satisfaction and her anxiety melted away. If Raggedstar ever stopped protecting her and if ThunderClan ever rejected her, she still had Cloudstar and SkyClan to turn to.

* * *

"Brackenpaw, you need to move faster."

The pale brown tabby paused in his striking, confused. "I'm moving as fast as I can."

Foxshadow narrowed and she padded around Brackenpaw as he continued practicing. "Perhaps you are not conceptualizing it correctly. When you strike, what do you see?"

"I see the enemy, sir," he meowed.

"What part of the enemy?"

"The enemy's shoulder."

The massive she-cat nodded and turned, padding a foxlength away. "When you strike, what do you feel?"

Brackenpaw shifted his stance and tried a different strike, but frowned when he stayed at the same pace. "I feel..." he trailed off.

The fox-colored she-cat looked at him. "Like you are putting all your effort into it?"

"Yes." Brackenpaw glanced at her. "Sir."

"Then let's try something else," she meowed. "Instead of focusing on speed, let's focus on strength. I want you to put as much of your strength behind the blow."

The apprentice nodded and swiped as hard as he could. His paw was suddenly much faster and he stumbled in his strike.

"Good," meowed Foxshadow with a flick of her tail. "Continue."

Foxshadow turned her back to Brackenpaw, her gaze on the forest. The sun had long ago crawled to the highest point in the sky and was already sinking towards the setting sun. Foxshadow waited until Brackenpaw had performed the move soundlessly before turning back to him, where she could watch him performe the move flawless three times more.

"That will be all, Brackenpaw," she meowed, with a pleased purr. "We will move on to hunting."

Brackenpaw dropped to his paws and crouched, looking away from her moodily. "Okay," he meowed, before he stood up and headed up the slope.

"Brackenpaw!" Foxshadow meowed quickly. "We will be hunting together."

Brackenpaw halted at the top of the rise and looked back, eyes widening in surprise and ears perked excitedly. "Really?"

Foxshadow raced to his side and crouched parallel to him. "Of course. It's time you experienced what it's like to hunt with someone. During the coming moons, especially when the snow starts to fall, having a hunting partner can ensure more birds are caught for prey."

Brackenpaw nodded seriously and waited eagerly for his mentor to take the lead. Foxshadow looked around and gestured for Brackenpaw to follow her towards Tallpines.

"Birds like the pine trees," she meowed to him. "At this time of year, the pine cones open and seeds fall out to the ground where the birds and mice can reach them. The pine needles that have fallen over the last six moons prevent the growth of plants year round and prevent us from sneaking up on them, but it also announces the arrival of our prey so it makes them easier to find them." She sucked in a breath. "I hope you've learned how to climb trees, Brackenpaw, because I'm not going to be able to catch you if you fall."

The smaller tom nodded and waited expectantly for more instructions.

Foxshadow paused a moment and then nodded. "Let's go."

Without waiting for Brackenpaw's brain to catch up to her, she scrambled up the nearest tree and raced towards Lion's Trap. She heard the rustle the branches behind her as Brackenpaw scrambled to follow and she slowed until she had stopped on a pine branch. When she looked back, Brackenpaw was just a few leaps behind her. She waited patiently for him to land on a branch near her before waving her tail for him to stop before he could land on her branch.

"Remember, pine branches can't hold a lot of weight." She let her tail hang down. "The soft bark makes them perfect for squirrel nests."

Brackenpaw nodded and looked around, his nose raised to smell for prey. She followed his example, scanning the ground and the tree branches, watching for movement. Her sensitive nose couldn't detect any prey smells over the heavy stench of pine and she cursed her lazy mentor for never teaching her how to distinguish smells. A small brown furry creature scurried through the pine needles. Without think, she leaped from her branch and landed around it, her claws snapping out and scooping up the mouse into her mouth. It died almost instantly. She didn't bother to dig through the pine needles to bury it and carried it up into the tree, laying it down in the crook of the branch.

After a quick glance at Brackenpaw, who was already moving to another tree and keeping his attention on the ground, Foxshadow moved to another tree a little farther from him and crouched to wait for a piece of fresh-kill. When she glanced back at Brackenpaw, he was already back in the tree, a mouse dangling from his jaws. She watched with amused satisfaction as he placed his catch in the crook of the branch he was on, then her gaze drifted back toward the ground. The mice, fully expecting their predators to pad through the pine needles towards them, were out in full force and oblivious to the death preying upon them from above. She bounded into another tree and leaped easily down onto another mouse, careful not to squish it before killing it and carrying it up to her tree branch.

They hunted until dusk when Foxshadow called it off. Foxshadow had manage to catch a fat pigeon who she had caught perched on a garden fence, while Brackenpaw had caught a plump thrush. They gathered all their prey together and left the area by tree branch, before Foxshadow leaped down onto the ground and waited for Brackenpaw to follow her lead. Her apprentice joined her quickly and took the long pause as an invitation to speak.

"Why do you think Tigerclaw killed Redtail?"

Foxshadow shook her head and dropped her load, her voice lowering. "Not here and not now. We will talk later about this." She began whispering. "Ask Ravenfeather if you can meet me in his den. Make sure no one else hears you when you ask him. Tell him you have been instructed to meet me there after dusk tomorrow, but only after all our chores are done. It will be safer there. Understood?"

Brackenpaw blinked in surprise and nodded, his tail twitching thoughtfully and impatiently. "Yes, sir."

"Good," meowed Foxshadow.

They carried their prey up deeper into the oak trees when Tigerclaw appeared from the bushes. He looked between Brackenpaw and Foxshadow and nodded.

"Have you been hunting all day?" he meowed.

"No, we stopped battle practice a while after sunhigh," meowed Foxshadow.

Tigerclaw whiskers twitched as he re-examined their haul. Foxshadow noted that Brackenpaw gave a nervous flick of his ears, and realized that he was thinking about the secret that Foxshadow was planning to share with him.

"We should drop our load and make sure the queens are fed," meowed Foxshadow.

"Are you planning to train Swiftpaw tomorrow?" asked Tigerclaw.

"I've giving him a quarter moon with Runningwind before I give him another assessment." She paused. "If that is alright with you."

The dark warrior flicked an ear dismissively. "I trust your judgement."

A flicker of distrust wormed in her heart but she kept her face friendly and dipped her head. "Thank you, Tigerclaw."

She pushed forward through the bushes, ignoring the feel of Tigerclaw's fur on her flank, and entered the camp. The mews of greeting from the few cats present turned into impressed murmurings as Foxshadow lead her apprentice to the freshkill pile.

"How did you manage to catch so many in leaf-bare?" asked Thornpaw.

Mousefur answered for her. "Leaf-bare has barely begun. When snow covers the ground, then it becomes difficult to hunt prey."

"But still," meowed Runningwind, "this is lot for a day's hunting. You must have been really lucky."

Foxshadow twitched her ears. "Luck had nothing to do with it," she meowed firmly. "I should take some of these to the nursery. Brackenpaw, make sure the elder has been fed before you take one for yourself."

Brackenpaw nodded before padding off, tail raised high as his Clanmates praised him. She watched him with warmth and amusement in her eyes before she picked up the pigeon and thrush to carry to the queen's den. A warm meow greeted her as she stepped in and she found herself nose to nose with Goldenflower.

"Back so soon?" Goldenflower asked. "With more prey?"

"No voles in this weather, unfortunately," Foxshadow meowed. "If I'd hunted beside the stream, I might have found a bankvole."

Goldenflower flicked her ears and snapped up the prey before darting back into the den. Foxshadow hesitated before following.

"I saw how much prey you and your apprentice brought," meowed Willowpelt wearily. "Where did you hunt?"

"Tallpines," meowed Foxshadow. "The prey's plentiful there if you know how to catch them unawares."

The pale grey tabby blinked in surprise. "I've never seen someone come back with so much prey from Tallpines, especially not in leaf-bare."

"Probably because they tend to make too much noise," Foxshadow meowed simply. "How are your kits?"

"Rainkit, Sootkit, Ashkit and Fernkit are doing fine," meowed Willowpelt, blinking nervously at Foxshadow. "Have you heard anything about Graystripe?"

To be honest, that cat had slipped from Foxshadow's mind a long time ago. She shrugged. "No, but I'll ask Fireheart if you want?"

Willowpelt relaxed a smudge. "That would be great." She hesitated, before saying nervously. "It's strange to be nursing my son's kits."

"Darkstripe?" Foxshadow meowed.

The grey queen nodded. "Yeah. Do you miss your mentor?"

Now it was Foxshadow's turn to hesitate. "I miss the time we could have had," she meowed. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to save him."

"It's not your fault," meowed Willowpelt, her voice turning into a quiet hiss. "It's the twolegs' fault for leaving their trash in that ditch."

Foxshadow sighed, looking away guiltily. "I see. Who was Darkstripe's father, if I might ask?"

"Tawnyspots," meowed Willowpelt, her gaze growing distant. "He was deputy of ThunderClan before Sunstar, our past leader."

"Graystripe's father?"

"Thrushpelt. He was father to Bluestar's kits before they died." Willowpelt looked sorrowfully towards her paws.

"And Whitestorm was your current mate?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Foxshadow meowed honestly. "I was horrified when I saw his body. We lost a potential deputy when he died. Sometimes I wish he was still here, giving us wise advice."

Willowpelt lowered her head so they rested on her paws. "I'm glad I gave birth to his kits. I only wish he could have seen them."

The massive she-cat crawled closer to Willowpelt and pressed into her back, resting her own head on Willowpelt's. "Has Brindleface taken them out?" she asked, noting the silence of the nursery.

"She wanted to stretch her limbs," Willowpelt explained. "She took them to the prisoner's den. They think of it as a secret nest."

Foxshadow couldn't help a snort of amusement. "I wanted to tell Brindleface that I think her son is ready to become a warrior."

Willowpelt purred. "She'll be glad to hear it."

A companionable silence followed and Foxshadow thought over her strange omen that morning. "I think I might sleep in the nursery tonight," she meowed at last. "I haven't told Dustpelt yet."

The queen purred in relief. "We would welcome you."

"I don't have any milk," Foxshadow meowed hurriedly. "I just... I'm worried that there might be an attack on the nursery and I want to be here to help protect the kits."

Willowpelt purred in amusement. "You may not be a queen but you are a mother. Besides, I'm sure Cloudkit is going to want to get to know you."

"If Brindleface hasn't adopted him already." Foxshadow purred in amusement but it died quickly in light of her recent conversations with the gentle queen. "To be honest, I don't want Brindleface to take care of the kits on her own anymore. I want her to know that I can watch over them if she wants to hunt."

"She'll appreciate it."

Foxshadow thoughts turned towards Tigerclaw, the deputyship and Ravenfeather. She wanted nothing more than to abandon her mission and stay in the nursery, but no matter how many times she thought over it, she couldn't think of a way out of becoming deputy. Sure, someone else might step down eventually or they could end up being leader. Foxshadow just couldn't chance it. Fireheart was meant to be leader, Tigerclaw was never meant to be ThunderClan's leader, and she determined to help Ravenfeather stay in ThunderClan.

"I think it's best if I wait a bit before becoming a queen," meowed Foxshadow quietly. "Once Brackenpaw is a warrior, at least."

It took her a moment to realize that Willowpelt had fallen asleep. Foxshadow felt a stab of guilt at the thought of rising and joining Dustpelt in the warrior's den.

* * *

At dusk the following day, Foxshadow and Brackenpaw returned from another hunting trip with the same amount of prey as before. Foxshadow flattened her ears at the praise the Clan gave them, taking note of their combined skills. The massive she-cat could practically hear Runningwind exaggerating her skills with his tales in the background as she padded to the nursery.

A golden tabby greeted her with a purr. "With your luck on our side, the Clan will never starve during leaf-bare." Eight kittens crowded at her heels but when they caught sight of Foxshadow they grew quiet, eyes wide in surprise. Foxshadow barely noticed them, distracted with her own thoughts.

Foxshadow glanced back at Brackenpaw, who was sharing a bird with a surprised and slightly nervous Ravenfeather. "We won't be hunting in Tallpines tomorrow. We don't want the prey catching on to us being there. We could try catching some fish."

"No ThunderClan cat would eat that filth," Willowpelt said with a snort. "Leave it for RiverClan."

"In leaf-bare, we can't be picky about the food we eat," Foxshadow reminded her. "And fish tend to stick around all leaf-bare."

Brindleface nodded thoughtfully. "It would be good for the Clan."

Foxshadow purred warmly. "Don't worry, Willowpelt. If you won't eat it, I will."

Willowpelt snorted and turned her back with a playful huff, glancing back at Foxshadow. Foxshadow recognized the gesture from rabbit behavior analysis and couldn't help an amused purr.

Goldenflower lifted her head. "I'm taking the kits out. Do you want me to introduce you to them?"

"They are three moons now, right?" Foxshadow guessed, looking over the kittens who were half Goldenflower's size. "All weaned?"

Goldenflower purred and gestured to her kittens. "These four over here are my kits; Bramblekit, Tawnykit, Beekit and Eaglekit."

"Then that makes you four, Rainkit, Sootkit, Ashkit and Fernkit," meowed Foxshadow, giving them all a brilliant smile. "I am Foxshadow, warrior of ThunderClan and Cloudkit's mother. Nice to meet you all."

"Herro," meowed Bramblekit, stepping forward to sniff at the strange new she-cat. "I'm Bramburrkit of ThunderCrran."

A loud purr erupted from Foxshadow's chest as she bent to sniff noses with the young tom. "Well met, Bramblekit."

A tawny tortoiseshell jumped forward, jealous of her brother. "I'm Tawnykit!" she queaked, rushing to touch Foxshadow's nose. "Of ThunderClan!"

"I'm Eagerkit!" shouted a golden-brown tabby in a panic, ducking under his sister in his rush to touch noses with Foxshadow. "Of ThunderCrran!"

"You certainly are," meowed Foxshadow with an uproarious purr. "You're all very brave."

"I'm brave!" yelped Beekit, but he remained behind his siblings. He raised his head. "I'm lots brave."

"I never said you weren't," Foxshadow meowed, purring. "Have fun, all of you." She made sure to look the other four in the eye and purred when they ducked their heads shyly. "You're mother has told me a lot about you."

Before they could respond, Goldenflower interrupted them. "Come along. Foxshadow is very busy and she's going to need her sleep."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, her thoughts turning to Brackenpaw. "I just came to see Cloudkit."

"Cloudkit's in the medicine cat's den," meowed Willowpelt.

"Whitecough?"

"No, just a scratch from a thorn."

Foxshadow glanced around in confusion and nodded to herself. "I'll be going then. Have a good night!"

She rushed to the medicine cat den but halted at the stench of herbs. "Yellowfang?" she called. "Is Cloudkit in there?"

"Yellowfang's in Bluestar's den," meowed a familiar voice as Fireheart padded out. His tail fluffed out in anxiety. "Cloudkit is fine."

Foxshadow stared at him in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"He's my nephew, remember?" Fireheart meowed. "Brackenpaw was talking with Ravenfeather about seeing his nest. Did you tell him to do that?"

"Yes. He wants to know why I think you-know-who killed you-know-who." Foxshadow flicked her ears. "Was it a thorn?"

"They didn't find one in his fur or in his nest," meowed Fireheart slowly.

Her neck fur rose and she glanced back at the nursery, but said nothing. "I should meet with Brackenpaw. He deserves an explanation."

Fireheart nodded, his brow furrowed in confusion. "How does he even know?"

"He overheard me and Dustpelt arguing and I mentioned the rumors." Foxshadow shrugged. "He's smart enough to see the truth when we reveal it to him. I'm not concerned about him telling someone, either. He's trustworthy."

Fireheart tilted his head and grew quiet. "We need to talk about everything I've discovered as well."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all are doing well! This chapter is 4.8k words long without Author Notes! Yay!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	41. Forest of Secrets pt 14

**A/N: I'll just leave this here... yup.  
**

 **Sierra: I'm afraid Foxshadow's got a spot reserved for someone who worries her even more than poor Tawnykit.**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Dream, yes. (2) Yes. (3) Sorta. (4) :3 (5) More than anyone else? Did you forget Cinderpaw? :P (6) More on that in this chapy. (7) No, not creepy at all. (8) *le sigh* (9) Foxshadow became 6x more awesome for being the first warrior to randomly introduce herself to the kits. (10) I wonder who you are yelling at... and I have this feeling you are not yelling at the right cat.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I hope I addressed it well because I don't want to give the impression that these cats actually are incestuous. It would be by pure accident that two true brother and sister had kits together, though the elders would be the first to intervene on their parent's behalf. In fact, this is the main reason why everyone in the Clan needs to know the heritage of the kittens in the Clan, even if that heritage boils down to "daughter of Firestar" and "rogue". I'm going to have to think about how I handle this if I decide to write a short story on it. Hm.  
**

 **Hazel Ashwood: Boo! :P Though seriously, thank you so much for the compliments! I don't know what to say.  
**

 **Stormbreeze: Sorrelkit will not be born until after this story is finished.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: (ch5) Actually, in canon, Brightheart and Swiftpaw are not siblings despite basically acting like siblings for the entire time they are apprentices together. Also, genetically speaking, Brightheart and Swiftpaw's coat colors make more sense if they were brother and sister, so I just put them together. (ch13) Yes. Yes, that is a reference to it. I honestly forgot I put that in. XD (ch21) In canon, yes, Mistyfoot is a solid blue-gray she-cat. However, genetically speaking, she must have tabby markings and is more likely to be a tortoiseshell than her mother's color (though it isn't unheard of for a solid blue cat to be born to cats with Bluestar and Oakheart's genetics). (ch40) Glad you loved it!  
**

* * *

The night was cold and wet. Foxshadow felt cramped and uncomfortable inside of the small den, hyperaware of the noises of insects and frogs in the world outside. Brackenpaw was on her right, blocking the entrance with his body, and both Ravenfeather and Fireheart were pushed to the back of the den, crouching.

"This den needs work," groused Foxshadow, wondering if she should have been the one to build this den. "Could use some moss."

Fireheart shifted uncomfortably. "That isn't why we're here," he meowed firmly, tail twitching. "I have news about Graystripe. He's-"

"First, we explain why we are here to Brackenpaw," Foxshadow interrupted. "We need to make sure everyone is on the same page." She looked at her apprentice. "Do you remember what Tigerclaw said when he came back from the Sunningrocks battle when Redtail died?"

Brackenpaw frowned. "Not really. I was playing behind the nursery with Goldenflower."

"Speckletail," Foxshadow absently corrected. "Do you remember what Tigerclaw said that day?"

"No, but I remember the elders said that he had killed Oakheart in revenge for Redtail."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "He killed a warrior from another Clan when the warrior code stats we are not supposed to. Perhaps he had lost control of his emotions, but Tigerclaw is too in control of himself for it to seem at all likely and he never mentioned whether or not he was furious over Redtail's death - it was merely implied in his statement when he said he avenged Tigerclaw's death." She paused and licked her chest self-consciously. "But I'm nitpicking. Ravenfeather, tell him what you saw that night."

The black warrior rose to his paws, immediately catching everyone's attention. He glanced at Fireheart in surprise, his tail twitching nervously. "Sure," he meowed, disturbed at the attention. Then he launched into the full story of that day, from the moment he heard the rocks fall, to when Redtail announced that Oakheart was dead, then to the retreat and Ravenfeather returning to Sunningrocks only to stumble upon Tigerclaw killing Redtail.

A heavy silence filled the cramped den and Foxshadow resisted the sudden urge to scratch the cobwebs on her cheek.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

Brackenpaw's question took them all by surprise.

Ravenfeather spluttered. "I n-never thought it would happen!" His eyes darted pleadingly to Foxshadow.

"Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow, grabbing the apprentice's attention, "let me put this into perspective for you. If you had returned to Sunningrocks that day and saw me hiding in the bushes instead of confronting our deputy directly, would you really think I was planning to kill him?"

The pale brown tabby blinked. "No."

"How would you have tried to stop me if you did know?"

Brackenpaw stared at her for a long moment before dropping his gaze, fur along his shoulder bristling. "I wouldn't be able to," he admitted before looking at Ravenfeather, "I would run right back to camp and tell everyone I could."

"Exactly," meowed Foxshadow. "But when Ravenfeather returned to camp, he passed out." She hesitated as Brackenpaw's face twisted in disbelief. "If you were as small and as young as Ravenfeather was and had run back and forth between Sunningrocks twice after participating in that battle, do you really think you would have been able to stay on _your_ paws?"

Brackenpaw flattened his ears at the subtle reprimand. "I guess not." He glanced at Ravenfeather.

Foxshadow felt a thrill of triumph, glancing at Fireheart's attentive expression. "Then, you can understand our problem?"

"Yes."

Nodding in satisfaction, she explained. "Our goal right now is to keep Ravenfeather safe and to find evidence to prove what his story is true. Fireheart will explain what he has discovered."

The red ticked tabby blinked gratefully at Foxshadow. "I spoke with RiverClan's medicine cat about what happened to Oakheart. He died by being crushed by fallen rocks and not from any cat. It confirms the first part of Ravenfeather's story."

Foxshadow flicked an ear. "Anything else?"

Fireheart glanced at the apprentice and frowned. "That was all I could find that proved Ravenfeather's story."

She knew right away that he had found out something else but wasn't willing to share it in front of Brackenpaw. Her fur prickled in irritation and she looked at Brackenpaw. "Do you have any questions? Anything that can help us when we decide to bring our case to Bluestar?"

Brackenpaw's eyes widened. "You're planning to tell Bluestar?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "she needs to know that her deputy cannot be trusted." Her thoughts turned towards the many instances in the book where Tigerclaw had tried to kill Bluestar but none of these instances had happened. It made her uneasy, wondering why Tigerclaw would delay trying to kill Bluestar.

"Tigerclaw trusts you, Foxshadow," meowed Brackenpaw, sounding horrified. "And you're going to believe this?"

Suddenly, Foxshadow doubted that it was a good idea to bring Brackenpaw. Her fur puffed out. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Every cat knows that Ravenfeather likes to tell stories," meowed Brackenpaw. "He changes the details all the time. At least," he added quickly at the black tom's alarmed look, "that's what I've heard."

"That is entirely to keep Tigerclaw off our backs," meowed Foxshadow. "I made up those rumors and told him them to protect Ravenfeather. He's the only one I've ever told, too, which will only be his downfall when everyone realizes he's the one who has been spreading those rumors."

Brackenpaw stared at Foxshadow, and then looked at Ravenfeather, sizing him up. "So, Tigerclaw killed Redtail?"

"Yes," meowed Fireheart firmly.

"And with Darkstripe dead, he has been looking for a replacement deputy. Longtail is too much of a coward in Tigerclaw's opinion and Dustpelt is too noble, so he has focused his attention on me. Since I have the Clan's attention in my claws and I can be easily manipulated if anyone mentions kits, he can feel assured that I will do anything he wants as long as he words it correctly."

"You don't think very highly of Tigerclaw, do you?" meowed Brackenpaw, looking uncomfortable.

"By now, you should understand why, Brackenpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "But I kept my promise and I have told you why I believe he is a traitor and responsible for Redtail's death. You can leave now and you can wash your paws of this."

Brackenpaw's gaze dropped to his paws and he shifted uncomfortably. Finally, he raised his head. "You said that Mudfur agrees it was the falling rocks that killed Oakheart?"

Fireheart nodded, and Foxshadow meowed. "You can ask any other cat what Tigerclaw had said that day. I'm sure Dustpelt would remember it. StarClan, he practically recites it every time we talk about Tigerclaw."

The pale apprentice nodded to himself. "I agree, then, but I want to hear it from Mudfur personally."

Pride filled Foxshadow as she glanced at Fireheart, her appreciation for her apprentice's words mirrored in his eyes. He dipped his head. "I understand. I will take you to meet him at the next Gathering."

Brackenpaw shifted uncomfortably and nodded. "I will meet you at the Gathering then."

"Don't get into trouble," meowed Foxshadow, a purr in her throat despite the warning. "We can have your warrior assessment after that."

Brackenpaw's head snapped up in surprise and looked uncomfortable. "I don't know if I'm ready."

"Your battle training could use some improvements," admitted Foxshadow, "but I doubt Tigerclaw will let that lie. He has his sights set on making me his successor, so you might end up with him tutoring you on the side."

The young tom's fur bristled in discomfort. "I thought you said that I shouldn't let anyone else tell me what to do because you have plans."

It was so long ago when Foxshadow had said that she had near forgotten it. She flicked her tail dismissively. "Think of it as an opportunity to distract him from Ravenfeather."

Brackenpaw nodded. "I will see you... tomorrow then." He glanced around, still looking minutely uncomfortable, before he padded out. They waited patiently for the sounds of his pawsteps to disappear.

"Fireheart," meowed Foxshadow, a questioning look on her face, "what didn't you want him to hear about?"

"I found out... about Bluestar's kits," he meowed. "Graypool told me about them. Oakheart was the one who brought them to their camp all those seasons ago."

"Mistyfoot and Stonefur do have his stripes and size," meowed Foxshadow, mostly to herself, "but no one can mistake that blue-gray fur for anyone other than Bluestar's."

Fireheart bristled. "But if Oakheart was Bluestar's mate, why would she believe he would kill Redtail?"

"Because of revenge, perhaps," meowed Foxshadow, her voice growing soft. "Bluestar is not entirely rational when it comes to matters of StarClan, Fireheart, or the decision she made when she gave up her kits a long time ago. You should not speak to her about them. She does not need the distraction they will cause. All we need to do is remind her that Oakheart was a good mate towards her and that he saved her kits, and that is all she needs to know."

"Why?" challenged Fireheart.

"You cannot understand what it is like to give up kits," meowed Foxshadow, careful not to say that she herself has not felt that loss. "You cannot understand what it is like to give up a mate. Bluestar does and that decision haunts her. We should not dig up old wounds, despite how necessary it is." She licked her paw, noted the black SkyClan pawpads, the RiverClan size, the long ThunderClan fur. She looked at Fireheart, with his short orange hair and ticked markings, the only sign that he had once been a kittypet. "You are her adopted son, whether you realize it or not. In her mind, StarClan sent you as a replacement for the kits she lost. She trusts you and your judgement because of them. If you were the one to point them out, she would think StarClan was laughing at her and feel conflicted when dealing with RiverClan, where her last surviving kin lies."

"I understand," meowed Fireheart, flattening his ears. "Every fight at Sunningrocks would feel like she was fighting her own kin."

Foxshadow shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry I ever told you that you and Tigerclaw were related."

"No, it's fine," meowed Fireheart. "It explains so much."

The massive she-cat winced, wondering briefly if she had destroyed what had made Fireheart great in the first place. _But Fireheart will see Brambleclaw as kin instead of an enemy_ , she thought _, and it will make his life so much easier._

"When are we going to tell Bluestar?" asked Ravenfeather.

"We can tell her now," meowed Foxshadow.

"Tomorrow," meowed Fireheart. "She is probably asleep now."

Foxshadow flicked an ear in irritation. "Very well." She glanced around. "Grab some moss for yourself, Ravenfeather. There's no reason to sleep on the dirt."

The black tom nodded. "I will, and I will see you tomorrow."

The massive she-cat gave a final nod and padded out of the den, glad to feel the cold leafbare air claw through her fur. She padded around the dirtplace and exited, shivering. Her gaze swept the camp, looking for Tigerclaw, but he was not present. She padded into the warrior's den and sniffed the air, trying to sift through the many smells for Tigerclaw's scent. His dark tabby form rose and fell in sleep and she padded around him, before finally sinking into her nest and careful to cozy up to Dustpelt without irritating her cobwebs.

* * *

The following morning, Foxshadow took Brackenpaw with her to the Sandy Hollow for another long round of practice, focusing entirely on perfecting his moves. While he swiped at the air or rolled along the ground, Foxshadow watched from a foxlength away.

"I know I haven't been working with you on this as often as you would like," meowed Foxshadow, "but there is a good reason for it, besides the things I have been doing on the side. A good fighter can make up battle moves during a battle and successfully pull them off. You are perfecting these battle moves so you can better understand what a battle move is supposed to look like."

Foxshadow tensed as the sounds of other cats entering the Sandy Hollow reached them. She flicked her tail for Brackenpaw to stop and they watched as Runningwind and Swiftpaw padded down the slopes. When Runningwind noticed them, he redirected to join them.

"Foxshadow," he meowed, dipping his head respectfully. "How are your wounds?"

"Healing well," Foxshadow meowed. "Brackenpaw needs a sparing partner. I hope you don't mind, Swiftpaw."

The black and white apprentice looked at Brackenpaw. "I don't mind."

"Good," Foxshadow meowed, looking at Brackenpaw. "I'll be watching you both so do your best."

Swiftpaw's tail twitched as if he was wanting to ask something but he turned away and padded out into the center of long dried up pond. Brackenpaw followed and waited patiently for Swiftpaw to face him before the two apprentices circled each other. Foxshadow settled down on the sand to watch and wait as Runningwind prepared to call out encouragement and advice. Foxshadow could tell right away that Swiftpaw had improved greatly, using his speed instead of his strength, but he fell back on his strength whenever he tried to pin Brackenpaw, allowing the smaller and stouter tom to wiggle out of his grasp. Brackenpaw kept his focus on Swiftpaw, adjusting his tactics whenever Swiftpaw seems to catch wind of what he was doing and surprising the faster and older tom at every turn. Foxshadow wondered briefly if she was watching her training at work of if everything she saw was Brackenpaw's natural skill.

"Will you be able to perform Swiftpaw's warrior assessment before the next Gathering?" asked Runningwind, as Brackenpaw once again wiggled out of Swiftpaw's grasp and the older apprentice let out a frustrated yowl.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, her gaze fixated on the fight. "He deserves to go to the next Gathering a warrior of ThunderClan, despite his personality problems."

"That's good to hear," he meowed, sounding unsure if it really was good news. "Will you be fighting him?"

Foxshadow lifted her head. "I don't know. It would be best if he fought me and won, if he's going to get over his problem. I just don't want to give him the win. He has to earn it."

"I understand," meowed Runningwind.

"The real question is whether or not you think he's ready," she meowed, rising to her paws.

"He'll be ready by the halfmoon," the silvered brown tabby responded quickly. "He'll beat you more thoroughly than I did."

"The cat who defeated the fox-slayer," meowed Foxshadow, with a purr. "The rest of the Clans are gonna have to watch their backs with you around."

Runningwind mrrowed in laughter. "I could never kill a fox, though. That is something only you could do, Foxstrike."

Twitching an ear at the new nickname, Foxshadow gazed down at the two apprentice as they continued to spar. Brackenpaw leaped onto Swiftpaw's back, clinging on and mouthing Swiftpaw's spine. The black and white apprentice yowled in fury and rolled, squashing his opponent under his back.

 _But if Brackenpaw had actually bitten his spine, Swiftpaw would be paralyzed and out of the fight._

Foxshadow glanced self-consciously around the Sandy Hollow, and started when she saw a pair of dark amber eyes staring down at her apprentice from the top of the rim. A chill swept through her fur and she immediately tore her gaze away from the dark tabby to yowl towards her apprentice.

"That's enough for now!" Foxshadow looked at Runningwind. "My apprentice and I need to go hunting near Lion's Trap before we head back to camp to check for rabbits. You can come, too. If we find any, we could use some fast runners to help catch them."

The brown-and-gray tabby blinked in surprise and nodded. "Sure, Foxshadow. Come, Swiftpaw."

Foxshadow twitched her tail for Brackenpaw to follow her before she turned and began a slow walk south of Lion's Trap. Her ears were pricked for sounds of some cat following. "Brackenpaw," she meowed, gesturing with her tail upwards, "scout ahead and see if there are any rabbits near Lion's Trap. Even one would be a good meal for our elders and queens."

The pale brown tabby nodded and darted into the forest. A few heartbeats later, Foxshadow could hear the distant sounds of him scrambling up the bark and leaping through the trees. She hoped Tigerclaw hadn't seen that and that Brackenpaw had the smarts to look around before tree hopping just in case he was watching. Then again, Brackenpaw had no reason to hide his newfound skill from fellow ThunderClan cats.

"We should head towards Lion's Trap," she meowed, padding a tad north of where Brackenpaw had disappeared. She kept her ears cocked towards where she knew Tigerclaw might be hiding as she jogged towards Lion's Trap. She wondered if Tigerclaw was going to follow them all the way there and discover how she had been managing to catch so many rabbits at once. Her fur bristled in unease.

When they reached the steep slope known as Lion's Trap, she gestured for the other two to hide in the bushes. A few moments passed before she heard the light thud as Brackenpaw scrambled down from a tree behind them.

"What did you find?" she asked without turning her head.

Runningwind and Swiftpaw jumped when Brackenpaw spoke. "There are a few rabbits a little to the south."

Foxshadow nodded. "Okay. Runningwind, Swiftpaw, can you do the honors?"

Runningwind nodded and darted around the rim of the slop towards the south with Swiftpaw hard on his heels. Foxshadow felt Brackenpaw brush up against her fur, fear-scent sharp and sweet filling her nose.

"Tigerclaw is out there," he meowed.

"Calm down," meowed Foxshadow softly, without turning her head. "Think of it as a warrior assessment. Perhaps he will make you a warrior tomorrow."

They waited with baited breaths for either Tigerclaw to reveal himself or the distant thunder of rabbit feet to announce the arrival of prey. Brackenpaw shifted on his paws and Foxshadow hissed at him in reprimand. The cold air was silent.

A tall tale thunderous noise, subdued but at the same time loud in the silence, announced the arrival of rabbits. Foxshadow shrank back into the bush and waited patiently for the rabbits to come. A heartbeat later, brown and white pelts darted out of the woods and towards the slope. Runningwind and Swiftpaw appeared on either side of their escape route, boxing them in and rushing towards the nearest prey. Foxshadow hesitated and Brackenpaw darted forward onto the last rabbit, giving it the killing blow. Foxshadow leaped down the slope and landed neatly beside him with a purr.

"Well done," she meowed. "All of you. Let's take this prey back to camp. I'm sure Bluestar will congratulate you both on a good job."

With this, she gestured the patrol to gather around her and they began their trek back to the camp. Foxshadow resisted the urge to look around, but she couldn't hear Tigerclaw and guessed he was probably waiting back at camp to congratulate them. She took them around a longer route, before taking them down into the ravine and into the camp.

The camp was already abuzz before they arrived and a few cats stepped forward to offer Swiftpaw and Brackenpaw congratulations. Swiftpaw soaked in the praise, but Brackenpaw glanced nervously at Foxshadow. She guessed he was thinking the same thing she was and whispered to him.

"Accept it or don't, the choice is yours. Either way, I will continue teaching you afterwards."

Having overheard, Swiftpaw gave Foxshadow a baffled glance but Brackenpaw nodded his understanding. With a glance around camp, Foxshadow began to move away towards the warrior's den, instinctively seeking out Dustpelt. When she padded inside, she spotted Mousefur.

"Mousefur," she meowed, "have you seen my mate?"

Dustpelt's sister from another litter stretched and rolled over. "He took his apprentice out on the sunhigh patrol."

Crestfallen, Foxshadow flattened her ears and gave a small nod. Bluestar's yowl sounded in the clearing and Foxshadow rushed outside, fur spiking.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

The dark brown and white she-cat rushed to Brackenpaw's side where he was trying and failing to eat a scrawny mouse and nudged him with a paw. Bluestar's gaze met Foxshadow's and she knew what Tigerclaw had done.

"It is a great moment in the life of a Clanmate who grows from an apprentice into a warrior," their leader meowed. Swiftpaw shifted excitedly, but Runningwind ducked his head in confusion. Foxshadow felt a sour taste in her mouth and silently apologized to Swiftpaw.

"It has come to the attention of my deputy that there is an apprentice in ThunderClan who is ready to be made into a warrior. Foxshadow, you have spent moons training Brackenpaw. Is he ready to be made into a warrior?"

"Yes," Foxshadow meowed, "though he still has a lot to learn, I believe that he is more than ready for the responsibility of being a warrior of ThunderClan."

Murmurs of surprise and approval rippled through the Clan. Foxshadow ignored Swiftpaw's indignant mew. Right now, she had other matters to concern herself with.

"He's too young," meowed Longtail, fur spiked up. "Just look at him. He won't be fully grown for a moon yet."

"He can fight better than our oldest apprentice, thanks to the training of one of our best warriors," meowed Tigerclaw smoothly. Longtail shot him a shocked look and ducked his head, looking properly cowed.

Bluestar waited until the Clan had settled before speaking again. "If that is all," she meowed, glancing around. "Then I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan,call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Brackenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Foxshadow refused to look at Brackenpaw, but Brackenpaw barely hesitated. "I do."

Bluestar nodded. "Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Brackenpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Brackenfur. StarClan honors your confidence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

The Clan erupted into cheers, but Foxshadow noted that Swiftpaw was not joining in. Cinderpaw was loudest of all, having crawled out of the elder's den.

" _Brackenfur! Brackenfur!_ "

"I'm sorry," Foxshadow quietly muttered, but she didn't look at Brackenfur. Rising, she padded into the warrior's den and settled into her nest, feeling defeated despite the victory.

 _With me ready to be made deputy_ , she thought to herself, _Tigerclaw's now free to kill Bluestar whenever he pleases._

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	42. Forest of Secrets pt 15

**A/N: Hello! :3  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: (A) Yeah, honestly when I started this story (before I did a little research) I thought they were related, too. They weren't but I decided to make them that way anyway. It only makes sense. Besides, if they weren't and the way they were acting in the books, it makes what happened to Brightpaw all the more tragic - too tragic for my tastes for someone as sweet as Brightpaw. Nope, I have something even worse planned for her. XD (B) Yeah. I never heard about that "looks like a road" joke before. Or maybe I had and forgot it. I wonder who explains that to him. (C) Ah, you're talking recessive genes. Unfortunately for us, a cat's tabby markings are dominate, so the only way a solid cat like canon Mistyfoot could give birth to only tabby kitties is if her mate was a double dominate tabby (which Blackclaw definitely is not). But that's besides the point, really. If Mistyfoot was a solid kitty she would look even more like Bluestar, and I can't have that and still give the whole "doesn't look like a ThunderClan cat" story credibility. No, Mistyfoot is a dominate classic tabby with a recessive solid gene because her daddy was double dominate tabby and her mommy was double recessive solid. Sorry.**

 **Sierra: Omg, the HYPE IS REAL! Most of those questions will be answered in this chapter and the next! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Speaking of plans, Tigerclaw reveals some of them this chapter. Gosh, I can't wait for you guys to see it. :)**

 **AnonChan1: Awww, Chan! I'm so glad I can give you some joy in your life and help relieve your stress. I feel bad because I think I'm about to make you really stressed. Much love! *heart* (A) It breaks my heart the things that the Erins put Bluestar through... and I am honestly disgusted with Bluestar's Prophecy and how it portrayed her. Just... ugh. I honestly think I got too much inspiration from it. (B) At least she's no longer Foxface, eh? XD (C) Uh-oh, someone needs to call a doctor. Or maybe a mechanic. XD  
**

 **S1L3NT: It's worse than that, my friend - Fireheart doesn't have an apprentice yet.**

 **Guest: Mostly because she gets easy distracted with other sometimes more important things. Also, don't forget to leave a signature. - Som**

 **supremerpgs8162: Aw, thank you. I honestly think a couple of them are still good. Anything by TheQu1etOne, Prin Pardus, and maybe Swyfte. I especially love Swyfte's The Poisoned and the Pure (with strange characters so you might have to search for the author to find the story).**

* * *

Two days after Brackenfur's warrior ceremony, Foxshadow awoke to the feel of her mate shifting beside her in the dark. She had been lazy for the last two days, hunting only for squirrels in the tree tops and keeping an eye on the rabbits south of Lion's Trap. She hadn't been on patrol and had gone to bed early last night. The threat of Tigerclaw hung over her like a dark cloud that crackled with lightning. It made her a light sleeper, wondering what Tigerclaw's next move would be.

She blinked at the twilight glow which filtered through the den's entrance and realized Dustpelt was going out on the dawn patrol.

"Wait," she whispered, her voice sounding strangely loud in the cold air. She rose to her paws and carefully padded around the sleeping warriors until her nose brushed his cheek. "I'll go instead."

Dustpelt twitched his ears, voice equally quiet. "Okay." He paused. "I still want to train my apprentice."

She nodded and followed him out. They crouched next to each other as they adjusted to the cold, fluffing out their coats. Foxshadow wrinkled her nose at the bitter cold on her wet nose. Out here, it would be harder to interrupt their Clanmate's nap with their talk.

"Thanks for taking over the dawn patrol," she told Dustpelt. "What are you planning on doing with Thornpaw today?"

"I'll train him until sunhigh, then try to go on border patrol at dusk," he meowed. "I want to keep a sharp eye out on RiverClan."

She realized that it was going to be more than a shock when Dustpelt heard the truth. He idolized the deputy and approved of what he had done for Redtail, albeit allegedly, and Foxshadow knew Dustpelt would not be happy with her if she blindsided him. She wanted him to be aware of what she planned to do, though she currently wasn't sure when or what she was going to do. She had no idea when Tigerclaw would strike, and everything she did needed to be planned around that. She made a mental note to ask Brackenfur to keep a sharp ear out for Tigerclaw and watch him in case he decided to do something funny.

"I'm sure they've seen what I did to that fox," meowed Foxshadow. "Why did Tigerclaw do that? Does he want war with RiverClan?"

"We have to appear strong in front of the other Clans, especially RiverClan." His eyes flashed. "We can't let them get away with murdering our Clanmates."

Foxshadow sighed. "Who's on patrol with me?"

"Sandstorm and Cinderpaw," meowed Dustpelt.

A spark of fear flashed through her chest and she cautiously licked her shoulder fur. Cinderpaw was the first in the line of fire.

"You okay?" Dustpelt hooked a paw over her back. "I smell fear-scent. Sandstorm doesn't hate you."

"Nothing," meowed Foxshadow, strained and forced her fur to relax. Her gaze reflexively looked for Tigerclaw, but he was not yet under the highrock. "Well, nothing I can talk about here." She looked pointedly at highrock before changing the subject. "At least the ground isn't covered in snow yet and all the animals are just preparing to sleep for the season instead of already shut up in their dens."

"True," meowed Dustpelt. "It's my second snow. I remember it when I was a kit. You were probably much older then."

Foxshadow purred. "I was about sixteen moons when I joined the Clan and still had two moons of growth to go through," she admitted. "Bluestar thought I was ten or twelve."

"You are a lot older than me," Dustpelt admitted. "Old enough to be deputy, even."

She felt her mood plummet. "I wish cats would stop bringing that up."

"Why? It's true."

"Yes, but it's only because Tigerclaw says so," meowed Foxshadow.

"Right, and you don't like Tigerclaw."

Foxshadow felt miffed. "Have you spoken to your brother? He has quite a story to tell you. I know that Tigerclaw has been spreading rumors about his story telling abilities..." She blinked at him. "Which should give even more credence to his story."

"No body knows where Ravenfeather is," meowed Dustpelt. "He doesn't sleep in the warrior den."

"I know where he sleeps and he is safest there."

"Where?" asked Dustpelt.

"To tell you would break my trust with him. He's safe there because Tigerclaw has no idea where he is."

"And why shouldn't Tigerclaw know?"

A wave of irritation washed over Foxshadow. "Because a few moons ago, Tigerclaw learned that Ravenfeather knew what really happened to Redtail and Oakheart, and that Tigerclaw killed Redtail."

Dustpelt stared at her. "Oh great, not this again."

Furious, Foxshadow stood up, feeling satisfaction when Dustpelt shuddered as the cold air touched the spot of warmth in his fur. "Whether you like it or not, Dustpelt, I'm going to tell the whole Clan what Tigerclaw did."

"Foxscar, wait!"

She padded towards the freshkill pile, realized she had no one to eat with, and turned away to pad towards the entrance. She didn't move from her place until another cat walked up behind her and meowed.

"Foxshadow, we need to talk."

Foxshadow started and turned around, looking eye-level with ThunderClan's deputy. Tigerclaw dipped his head.

"Do you have time?"

"I was going on the dawn patrol with Sandstorm and Cinderpaw." Foxshadow looked beyond Tigerclaw at the warriors den and saw Sandstorm and Dustpelt talking together.

Tigerclaw flicked his ears. "I've sent them to train their apprentices," he meowed. "Along with Runningwind."

"No one else?" asked Foxshadow.

"RiverClan's patrol never shows up early enough to see us. They won't even realize we are alone." He lifted his head and padded out the entrance. Foxshadow waited a heartbeat before following, wishing that Fireheart had been up to see her leave. She did not feel safe with Tigerclaw.

They padded to the RiverClan border and began marking it in silence. After Foxshadow had rubbed her cheek up against the last bush in the line, she padded silently towards where Tigerclaw waited and sat beside him. She licked her forepaw, hoping the soothing rhythm would help to keep her calm.

"I wanted you to meet someone," Tigerclaw meowed. "You heard the news that Leopardfur had stepped down from her position as RiverClan's deputy a few moons ago. Today, she is strong enough to walk again."

"Injury?" Foxshadow asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," meowed Tigerclaw coyly. "I want you to meet her."

Dreading what was coming and sensing what Tigerclaw was getting at, she watched in painful silence as a golden spotted tabby slipped into the water across the river. She hopped up onto shore, her belly dragging not from the weight of kits but from sagging flesh after a birth. It would be a while before it shrank back onto her skin. Tigerclaw padded forwardly eagerly to greet her.

"Leopardfur," he meowed warmly, startling Foxshadow.

"Tigerclaw," she meowed, her voice ringing with sincere warmth. She sobered. "Graystripe is walking free in RiverClan camp."

She said this as if it were a crime. Foxshadow rose to her paws and padded towards her, catching her attention before she could say more. The golden she-cat's eyes narrowed into slits and she leaned away from Tigerclaw's touch.

"Why is she here?" she meowed in distrust.

Foxshadow said nothing as her gaze slid expectantly towards Tigerclaw.

The dark warrior gave a fake, warm smile. "Leopardfur, Foxshadow loves kits. A quarter moon ago, she killed a fox in order to protect a stray kit." His gaze spoke volumes.

Leopardfur seemed understand what he was hinting at and relaxed. "You told her about your plan?"

Foxshadow forced her stiffening fur to relax and she stood. Tigerclaw shook his head, both in the negative and disapproval. Instead he meowed, "Foxshadow, Leopardfur is my mate."

 _Goldenflower is your mate, this is a foolish she-cat who thought she could have more than she should_ , thought Foxshadow, feeling deep betrayal on her friend's behalf. "I see," she meowed cryptically. She padded up to Leopardfur and sniffed her flank, catching sight of her stomach. "You're kits must be around one moon?"

"Yes," meowed Leopardfur, impressed, and she glanced at Tigerclaw.

"Four of them?" Foxshadow meowed, earning a nod. "One light brown, one dark brown and both striped tabbies?"

"Yes," meowed Leopardfur, eyes widening.

"Do any of them have your golden color?"

"No," meowed Leopardfur.

"Hm, they might once they become warriors." Foxshadow couldn't tell if Leopardfur was an amber cat, a true golden, or just had the underfur of a golden cat. She noted the tuxedo white on Leopardfur's chest and paws, near invisible among the rest of her fur. "Your dark brown tabby son has a white spot on his chest and white toes, potentially a white tail-tip, but otherwise looks like his father. Correct?"

"Yes." Leopardfur sound a tiny bit scared.

"What did you name him?"

"Hawkkit."

Foxshadow padded a little ways away and sat down, feeling sick. She licked her forepaws reflexively and swiped the cleaned paw over her ears. "I see. They _are_ Tigerclaw's children."

Leopardfur purred, amazed. "You can tell that just from my scent."

"And your coat colors," Foxshadow meowed, touching Leopardfur's chest. "It's uncommon for a kit to have a bright white spot on his chest when his mother doesn't have much." She paused, studying the queen's proud expression. "Hm, he is fated to have a bright future in his Clan."

"Of course he is," meowed Leopardfur, "all of them are going to have a bright future in our Clan."

Feeling like she was staring at more deluded and less psychotic Mapleshade, Foxshadow turned her gaze fixedly on Tigerclaw. "Explain," she meowed calmly, her ears already ringing with the words _our Clan_ _._

Tigerclaw dipped his head. "The strife between RiverClan and ThunderClan has killed many cats over the years. It is a senseless fight over a stripe of territory that could be shared between us both. I want to unite the Clans and make that territory both of ours. No more cats have to die, and no more kits will die to our fight."

"This new Clan will be stronger than WindClan and ShadowClan," meowed Foxshadow slowly, cautiously, her eyes fixed on Tigerclaw, "combined."

"Yes, and our kits won't be half-Clan," he meowed, "they will be one Clan. They won't have to suffer from the other cats judging them."

"One Clan under one leader," meowed Foxshadow, almost monotone.

"Yes." Tigerclaw looked pleased.

"I wonder which leader or deputy will survive to rule over your new Clan." Foxshadow saw Leopardfur twitch out of the corner of her eye. "It would be awkward having more than one of either in this new Clan."

His eyes narrowed. "We should leave now." He dipped his head to his lover.

Leopardfur looked at Foxshadow with wide eyes. Foxshadow forced out a pleasant purr, her voice soothing. "Go take care of your kits, Leopardfur." _Think carefully about this._ "I'll take care of my deputy. Worry only about them."

The golden-brown she-cat's eyes were wide as she slowly nodded and rose to her paws. An uncomfortable expression crossed her face for a brief moment, her paws shifting in uncertainty, before her expression settled. "Okay," she meowed, pressing his nose into Tigerclaw's shoulder. "I love you."

Tigerclaw touched her ear with his nose. "Remember to disguise your scent."

Leopardfur flicked an ear at him, irritated. She refused to look at Foxshadow as she turned away and padded into the river. Foxshadow waited until she had finished swimming across before speaking.

The massive she-cat realized this was all a calculated move, from Leopardfur getting pregnant to this meeting, just to maneuver her under Tigerclaw's proverbial thumb. She couldn't be more furious, for him using her love of kits against her, to terrified at the potential danger of his foxhearted scheme to unite the two Clans. "Well," she meowed carefully. "I'm guessing you did this for a reason."

Tigerclaw nodded. "I want my kits to be safe," he meowed. "Leopardfur's, Goldenflower's... I know it was wrong of me to have Leopardfur for a mate, but I love her."

 _You love power and she is just a tool for you to use to get,_ Foxshadow thought harshly, flattening her bristling fur with a careful lick. "I understand. Love does not always work for you."

The dark warrior relaxed. "Thank you for understanding and, please," - His voice became pleading - "think about what you've heard today."

Foxshadow nodded coolly and waited for Tigerclaw to stand and leave before allowing her neutral expression to shift to one of pain. She knew the decision she had to make and it was an obvious one. The only question was how many cats she would be dragging down with Tigerclaw along the way. She had to protect Tigerclaw's kits from the terrible truth; she just hoped that Leopardfur had the sense to realize what Tigerclaw was really suggesting with his scheme and come clean on her own before it was too late.

She rose to her paws. It was time to talk with Fireheart and send a word or two to Graystripe. Shaking herself, she padded into the forest and began to hunt.

* * *

She came back to camp with two squirrel in toe. The treerats had been so busy fighting over a hole in the tree that she had easily pounced down on them from above, mortally wounding one and squashing the other. They were fat from overeating in preparation for hibernation. Instead of taking them to the queens, she dropped them both in front of Swiftpaw, startling him.

"I need you to take these to the queens," she meowed. "I do it myself, but I need to make dirt really badly."

The black and white apprentice looked about ready to protest but stopped himself in time. "Fine," he groused.

"If you complain about your duties, you might be stuck doing them for another moon," Foxshadow warned, fur spiking in irritation. "After the quarter moon is over, I'm going to be handling your training personally. Don't make me mad. I'm already irritable from what Tigerclaw showed me."

Swiftpaw stopped, blinking. "What did he show you?"

"Nothing you need to share, Swiftpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "Tell Runningwind and Mousefur that I need to speak with them. You and they will be hunting with me near the Great Sycamore. Keep this meeting a secret or else I won't tell you anything, got it?"

Swiftpaw lifted his head in surprise. "Yes, Foxshadow." The promise of being told a secret filled Swiftpaw with sudden importance and he suddenly found no reason to complain. "Is Brackenfur going to be there?"

"No. It will just be us." Foxshadow flicked an ear. "I will see you on the hunting patrol."

The lythe apprentice nodded and vanished into the queen's den. Without waiting to see him complete his task, she turned and padded towards the dirtplace, padding around the squishy and smelly mud on her way to the secret den.

"Ravenfeather," she meowed sharply, sniffing gently at the entrance as she wiped her paws down on the ground. "You in?"

An Abyssinian stuck his head out of the den. Fireheart looked her over. "Something wrong?"

"I have some disturbing news I wish to share," she mewed, padding into the den without another word. The ground was covered in moss now and she was careful to avoid stepping on it. Her paws still smelled. "It's about the reason why Leopardfur had to step down."

"She had kits," meowed Fireheart. "I already know."

"Yes, she had kits," agreed Foxshadow, "with _Tigerclaw._ "

They were stunned them. Ravenfeather shifted in the darkness, shock coloring his mew. "When-?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Foxshadow meowed angrily. "I've thought about it over and over again and I keep coming to the same conclusion. He did this to get to me. He's been planning this for moons. He knew he had to get me to agree to help him and the only way he could do that was with kits." Her gaze swept the den, and she realized that Brackenfur was crouching alongside Ravenfeather, his eyes wide in surprise. She mentally reprimanded herself for not noticing him before. A heartbeat later, she had forgotten about her mistake in her fury and turned to look Fireheart in the eye. "He's plans to unite RiverClan and ThunderClan over them after he becomes leader. _Leopardfur_ agrees with his plan, but I gave her a few points to think about before I left. If he succeeds, he is going to kill more than just ThunderClan's leader, he's going to kill RiverClan's leader and deputy. I think Leopardfur has only just begun to realize this, but I want it spelled out for her by Graystripe so she can confess to Crookedstar what she has done." Foxshadow lifted her head. "Crookedstar will listen to her. It can help us convince him that Tigerclaw needs to be stopped."

The dead silence which filled the den was deafening.

"I just can't," meowed Brackenfur, horror in his eyes. "I don't believe it. This is madness."

Fireheart looked furious, his tail lashing angrily.

Ravenfeather laid down in defeat. "I never knew he could pull this off."

"He _hasn't_ pulled it off," Foxshadow meowed fiercely. "But we have no time. Fireheart, you need to go tell Graystripe right away. The whole Clan will believe you going to see him."

"What?" echoed Fireheart. "I can't just walk into their camp like that."

"You can and you will. They will believe you are just worried for Graystripe and still wonder if he's a prisoner. They have to. You need to tell him what's going on and just how much danger Leopardfur is in." Foxshadow crouched down. "I'm going to tell Mousefur and Runningwind what is going on. Swiftpaw, too. It's high time the Clan knew what was going on."

"Not Swiftpaw," meowed Brackenfur. "He's not mature enough."

"He's a warrior in my book regardless of what anyone says and I'm going to treat him like one. He has every right to make a decision that you and Brightface are going to need to make." Foxshadow rose to her paws and finally looked at her former apprentice. "Brackenfur, Ravenfeather, I need you to tell Brightface, Willowpelt and Brindleface what is going on. Fireheart, you have to speak with Sandstorm." She swallowed heavily. "I already tried telling Dustpelt, but he won't listen. I'll try again tonight, but..." She froze, suddenly afraid of what her mate would think.

"Are we going to tell Goldenflower?" meowed Brackenfur quietly.

Foxshadow closed her eyes and looked away. "I will," she meowed softly. "But not about Leopardfur. No one mentions Leopardfur. For her safety and the security of her kits." Foxshadow sucked in a breathe and calmed herself.

"But they are ThunderClan kits..." Brackenfur began.

She whirled on him, fur raised in anger. "A kit belongs in their mother's Clan," she growled firmly. "If Tigerclaw is banished for his crimes, he will have no claim to any of them. Not Goldenflower's and most certainly not Leopardfur's! Therefore, neither does ThunderClan!"

Realizing that she was practically screaming, she flattened her fur and meowed quietly. "I'm sorry, but I've seen what happens to kittypets who were new mothers and had their kits taken from them for the first time, never to be seen again. It is much worse for Clan cats who must watch them grow up from afar and some day fight them on the border for territory. I wouldn't wish that on Leopardfur or any mother for that matter."

Foxshadow knew she was being overdramatic about it. From her world, cats often forgot their kits after a few moons of them being away. Then again, in this world, kits were taken away when they reached six moons instead of three. Fireheart was lucky he hadn't been three months neutered when Bluestar found him.

"Our goal," she meowed, filling the silence, "is to tell everyone that the rumors concerning Ravenfeather's story is not true, that it was a lie spread by Tigerclaw to discredit the story he has told all of us. We are then to tell them that we not only believe Ravenfeather's story is not only true but we and a select group of warriors have found evidence to prove it and that we plan to share all of this evidence with the whole Clan in a few day's time." She looked each of them in the eye. "The details of the story need not be shared until that day, understand?"

She rose to her paws, suddenly filled with energy. "I should go now. So should you. May StarClan be with you all. Hopefully the others will listen." She padded out of the den quickly.

It took too long for the time to pass. She greeted Swiftpaw and settled down to eat a small mouse, feeling like her stomach was going to turn over. She checked herself over for bugs and ticks just to pass the time and calm down, but the thought of what she was going to tell Runningwind and Mousefur hovered at the back of her mind, making her anxious. She kept an eye out for Tigerclaw, careful to force herself to be calm while he might be around. When it was near time for the patrol to gather, she was sitting in front of the bramble tunnel scratching an unexplained itch on her shoulder with her teeth.

"We're here!" announced Swiftpaw proudly, tail raised.

Foxshadow felt like she had gnawed off all her shoulder fur. She scanned the patrol and nodded in satisfaction. She rose to her paws and gestured for them to follow. An itch to run to the Great Sycamore made her antsy. "Come," she meowed solemnly and padded out of the camp.

When they had reached the foot of the Great Sycamore, Foxshadow had relaxed somewhat with the knowledge of what she was going to share. She settled down and wrapped her tail around her paws, looking at the two seniormost warriors in ThunderClan and the apprentice who should be a warrior.

"I'm going to cut right to the chase," she meowed. "A few moons ago, when Fireheart first joined ThunderClan, Ravenfeather - then Ravenpaw - witnessed something at Sunningrocks which caused him run straight into camp and proclaim that Redtail was dead. This is because he witnessed his death first hand." She looked each of them in the eye, her expression serious. "For the last few moons, Tigerclaw has been spreading a rumor about Ravenfeather's story, telling Longtail specifically that Ravenfeather's story changes all the time to make it sound more fantastic. However, I am here to tell you that Ravenfeather's story hasn't changed since the day I dissuaded him from leaving the Clan. On that day, we were on a patrol headed for ShadowClan territory." She looked at Swiftpaw, Mousefur and Runningwind. "I heard his story in full then and it hasn't changed in all the time I have known him. Since that day, however, Fireheart and I have been searching for evidence to confirm his story. Today, I have found the evidence I need to conclude that not only is his story true but keeping it a secret could destroy all of ThunderClan, as well as RiverClan."

She looked each cat in the eye and saw how serious they were at this news. "Fireheart, Brackenfur and I have decided that, in a few days, we will not only reveal the whole story but also bring all our evidence to proving it to everyone in the Clan. We did not want to interrupt the Clan activities so we agreed to take a few cats aside at a time and reveal to them the whole story. Right now, Brackenfur and Ravenfeather are explaining our plan to Brindleface, Willowpelt and Brightface. Fireheart is explaining it to Sandstorm."

A silence fell over them. Foxshadow felt anxiety prickle her paws as the cats absorbed this information.

"Are you going to tell us it now?" asked Mousefur. "The whole story?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow. "It is too incredible to believe without all our evidence in front of you. Even Brackenfur doesn't believe it and he demands to speak with the only cat who can confirm whether or not it's true."

"Yet he's telling the others about your plan?" meowed Mousefur. "Even though he doesn't believe the story?"

Foxshadow straightened. "Brackenfur is a very smart cat. He has the potential to become one of the greatest deputies of ThunderClan, just as Swiftpaw has the potential to become one of our greatest warriors. He knew right away that the evidence we had could conclude not only whether or not the story is true but _also_ whether or not Tigerclaw is guilty is the crime we are going to accuse him of."

Runningwind looked suddenly very uncomfortable. "You think Tigerclaw committed a crime?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "a very serious crime."

"How serious?" Mousefur challenged.

Foxshadow looked Mousefur in the eye. "One far more serious than taking a mate outside of the Clan."

Mousefur's eyes widened. Runningwind's jaw dropped. Swiftpaw looked like he was going to burst.

"One that is almost too incredible to believe," meowed Foxshadow calmly. "One he has already admitted to doing in front of all ThunderClan."

Swiftpaw's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"He confessed? How? When?" Mousefur looked serious.

Foxshadow felt a spark of anger. "Do I have to spell out the warrior code to everyone?" She practically glared at them. "Or has everyone forgotten that he basically confessed to murdering RiverClan's deputy!"

"He didn't..." meowed Runningwind, unable to look anyone in the eye. "I mean..."

"He did say he killed Oakheart in retaliation for killing Redtail," meowed Mousefur, frowning thoughtfully.

Foxshadow nodded. "Exactly." She gazed at the three cats. "And this leads me to become worried for our leader's life. I am worried for Bluestar's very life and I need cats who understand the seriousness of the situation to protect her while we are out gathering this information. She needs to be in the camp when we decide to bring someone other to help support our story."

"You want us to protect Bluestar from Tigerclaw," meowed Mousefur.

"Mousefur, I would not be asking this if I doubted any of the evidence at all," Foxshadow meowed. "I need you all to trust me on this. What's the worst that can happen if you do? At least we can be sure that Bluestar doesn't die."

"But how are we going to do this?" Mousefur asked. "She likes to patrol alone sometimes."

Foxshadow blinked. "I don't know." She looked at Swiftpaw. "But for the time being, I would like you to keep this information to yourselves. Don't share it with anyone, not even with each other. If Tigerclaw is guilty and he hears you, he might try to stop us."

"What if he isn't guilty?" meowed Swiftpaw. "What if you're wrong?"

"Everything is on me," meowed Foxshadow. "The worst that can happen is that I won't be made his deputy after he becomes leader, or I'll be banished for trying to do this behind Bluestar's. I'm fine with that."

"What about Dustpelt?" asked Runningwind. "What does he think?"

Foxshadow grew quiet. "Dustpelt sees him as hero," she meowed, choking slightly. "I've told him about my doubts but he is convinced Tigerclaw avenged Redtail."

"Redtail was his mentor," Mousefur meowed quietly.

"Yes, and Dustpelt reveres Tigerclaw." She straightened. "But I want to avoid another Brokenstar. If he can't understand that, then I suppose it won't matter in the long run."

Runningwind flicked an ear in concern and looked at Swiftpaw. "We should all start hunting."

"Yes," meowed Mousefur, rising to her paws. "Are you planning to tell the other apprentices?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow, stretching her limbs as she rose to her paws. "I think I'll hunt alone."

Mousefur nodded at him. "Good luck with my little brother."

As the group scattered, Foxshadow felt bad for yelling at Dustpelt earlier, but she had made her choice and she wasn't interested in arguing with him about it. She padded into the forest, searching for squirrels or birds. It was probably the last time he'd accept a piece of prey from her. Her heart ached.

* * *

 **A/N: I had to split this chapter into two, so it's only 5k. Hope you enjoy this one cause I'm posting another just as long or longer tomorrow!  
**


	43. Forest of Secrets pt 16

**A/N: This is a 6k word chapter. Yeeeee! This chapter gave me so much trouble. I had 3k words done yesterday but I forgot to write in a scene and it changed everything. Had to basically rewrite it piece by piece. It was tedious but I'm done... and I never proofread. Sorry.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: What really? Show me! I want to see it! If you include Tallstar, I will kiss you.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Ugh, that's bad. Try midol. It works on any kind of pain. Comes highly recommended by my mother. (1) Yup! (2) Yup! (3) I just love your little freak outs, especially when they are totally off base. *hugs/french kisses* (4) Yes, Tigerclaw did. That might be relevant next chapter, if I remember to tie it in. (5) She's preparing the Clan for surprise visitors. If she were to not tell them, she'd be alienating them from herself. She has to be careful who to tell or they might squeal to Tigerclaw before it's time. (6) You are so fixated on that... I find it strangely funny. Funny.  
**

 **Stormbreeze: POSSSSSSTIIIIIING  
**

 **Sierra: That is end of next book! Long time from now! Can you wait a little longer? I'm trying to get to Rising Storm as fast as I can and then the babies.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: Mapleshade is not a broad-shoulder tabby. She's a calico. Very bright. Very crazy. Hm.  
**

* * *

As dusk settled in the camp, Foxshadow walked into a world consumed by secrets. The whole Clan was suddenly in on something that Longtail, Goldenflower, Dustpelt, Patchpelt, Bluestar, Tigerclaw, the medicine cats and the apprentices couldn't possibly imagine. Though no one could know the details of what exactly Foxshadow was planning, the sense of something coming, like a dark storm, had the whole Clan nervous and tense. Even Longtail looked nervous, glancing around at his fellow Clanmates with a confused, anxious expression.

She searched anxiously for Dustpelt but he was nowhere to be seen. He probably hadn't returned from the sunhigh training yet. Struggling not to swallow a feather, she dropped her prey onto the freshkill pile and padded towards the nursery to seek out Goldenflower. Willowpelt greeted her with a half-hearted mew, and Foxshadow gave her a solemn nod.

"How's Cloudkit?" the fox-colored she-cat meowed, sitting down.

"He's in the medicine cat den," meowed the pale she-cat. "He keeps getting scratched on something but we can't find it."

"Thorns?" asked Foxshadow, with a glance towards Willowpelt's kits.

"I don't know," she meowed, looking nervous.

"When does it happen? In your nest, Brindleface's or Goldenflower's?"

Willowpelt licked her lips. "Mine," she confessed.

The massive she-cat kept her voice neutral. "Then it's probably one of your kits who can't keep his claws in." Her gaze fell on Darkkit. "Just keep Cloudkit separate from them and he should be fine. If it doesn't happen again, then we can say it's problem solved."

The queen relaxed, relieved. "Okay, Foxshadow."

Darkkit squirmed and blinked open his flinty yellow eyes. It drew the attention of both Willowpelt and Foxshadow, and the pale she-cat nosed Darkkit lovingly. Foxshadow returned the tiny devil's glare, promising retribution for harming her white marshmellow.

"Willowpelt, did anyone talk to you about Tigerclaw recently?"

The she-cat froze. "Yes."

"I need you to tell Goldenflower," meowed Foxshadow, looking down at Darkkit. "Out of earshot of the kits. She needs to make a decision about what to do with her kits when this happens, especially if she doesn't want them to hear it."

Willowpelt nodded, giving Foxshadow a concerned look. "Okay, I understand."

Foxshadow flattened her ears. "I'm sorry I won't be able to do it myself. There is... I just can't face her right now. Not after everything Tigerclaw has told me he plans to do."

Willowpelt stared at Foxshadow and nodded, eyes wide. "O-okay."

The massive she-cat dipped her head respectfully to the queen, feeling like she was saying good-bye to the nursery forever, and padded out, heart aching. It was time to talk to Fireheart one last time.

She padded to the warrior to check if Dustpelt or Fireheart was there, but found neither of them. Mousefur was there however, eyes open despite being curled up in her nest, eyes distant.

"Mousefur, have you seen Dustpelt?" she asked hopefully.

The best hunter in ThunderClan raised her head and blinked at Foxshadow. "Not since the sunhigh patrol. He probably went on the dusk patrol." She waited, her tail twitching anxiously for Foxshadow's responses.

The massive she-cat relaxed. "He said that this morning. I forgot." Her tail twitched. "I'm not going to be able to tell him before it's time." She looked helplessly at Mousefur. "I have the dawn patrol. He will want to sleep in."

"Then wake him up," growled Mousefur, looking mildly irritated.

Foxshadow froze, tail-tip twitching. The thought of waking Dustpelt to tell him the news made her stomach tie itself in knots. It just wasn't early enough to tell someone the news. "I don't want him tagging along. He's going to insist once he learns what I'm going to do. The last thing I need is for all my evidence to stay on RiverClan's side of the border."

"You're bringing RiverClan cats here?" asked Mousefur, rising her to paws.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, glancing at the dusky brown tabby. "I told you I needed to bring my evidence here."

"Yes, but-" she stopped herself. "How are you going to convince the Clan that they tell the truth?"

"I won't need to," she meowed simply. "Yellowfang and Mistlepaw will stick up for Mudfur for me. Ravenfeather will back whoever was there. The only one I can personally vouch for is Leopardfur and her story, if she decides to come and reveal it to us." Foxshadow paused and looked at Mousefur. "Have you trained an apprentice before?"

The she-cat shook her head.

Foxshadow felt a flash of irritation and began pacing across the mossy nests. "You should have gotten Brightface. You were the first cat I was going to vouch for when and if Tigerclaw disappeared. Longtail would never make a fitting deputy. Giving him an apprentice made no sense."

"I'm honored," she meowed softly, but Foxshadow didn't hear her.

"The stupid decisions our leader has made irk me. Why hasn't she prepared the next generation properly for becoming the next deputy of ThunderClan? It makes what's going to happen that much worse. Without a suitable replacement, Tigerclaw's absence will leave a hole in our whole Clan."

Mousefur rose to her paws. "What about you?"

Foxshadow stopped and looked at her paws. "After everything I've been doing in the last few moons, I don't think Bluestar will even consider it. Runningwind has a better chance of becoming deputy than me."

Foxshadow's whole goal had been riding on becoming the next deputy, but now that she here she could not even think of herself taking over. Why would Bluestar select her, a backstabbing traitor, as deputy of ThunderClan?

"I need to tell Bluestar." She stopped, fur ruffled. "I'm afraid if I do she might try to stop us. She's going to think it unnecessary - her faith in Tigerclaw is so strong. I don't know how to break it to her without breaking her."

Mousefur was silent, eyes wide. Finally she rose to her paws. "I'll tell her. I'll tell her that you, Fireheart, Brackenfur, Ravenfeather, and I have concerns about Tigerclaw and his story." Her eyes narrowed. "I'll remind her about the warrior code and what it says about killing cats, especially for revenge."

Foxshadow's head whipped around so fast her neck ached. She stared at Mousefur in shock. "You do realize Bluestar will want to interrogate Tigerclaw personally to get better details on what happened. He's going to say he was blinded with vengeance and some such to justify it."

The senior warrior shrugged. "You have evidence to suggest that he didn't kill Oakheart at all, so why does it matter?"

"Because it's going to make what I have to say even harder for Bluestar to swallow," meowed Foxshadow, licking her lips as an idea came to her, "but far harder for Tigerclaw to argue against..." If Tigerclaw was to reiterated his story, even slightly, to comfort Bluestar's conscious, without correcting anything that was actually wrong with his story - such as Oakheart's death - it would only make the story fresh in the ears of the Clans and easier for them to compare to the actual facts. It was a brilliant move. "Mousefur, I will love you forever if you did this for me. Let the whole Clan hear Tigerclaw defend himself tonight and remind them of his story."

Mousefur nodded and rose to her paws, before disappearing out the den. Foxshadow sucked in a breath and rushed out, eager to hear the news. She raced to the dirtplace and around back to Ravenfeather's secret den.

"Guys!" she meowed, rushing inside. She spotted Ravenfeather right away. "You have to come and see. Mousefur is going to get Tigerclaw to remind the Clan of his story. We all need to be there to hear it."

"What?" Fireheart emerged from deeper in the nest, eyes wide. "But we aren't ready."

"Of course not!" she admonished him. "But the Clan needs to hear him explain his side of the story if we are going to tear it apart tomorrow. Quick, all of you."

She rushed out of the dirtplace and hared back into the camp, without checking if they followed. When she arrived in the clearing, the dusk patrol had returned; Goldenflower, Dustpelt and Tigerclaw. She spotted Dustpelt heading towards the fresh-kill pile and bolted to his side. "Dustpelt, we need to talk."

The smaller tom blinked at her and nodded, taking the thrush she had caught earlier from the pile. She led him to the entrance to the prisoner's den, a tail-length away from the medicine cat den and they settled down as he ate. Foxshadow felt her heart pounding in excitement as she waited for Mousefur to come out, and she turned her attention to her mate, who was busy plucking out feathers.

"Do you want some of these feathers for our nest?" he meowed. "They might keep us warm."

Foxshadow glanced at the fluttering feathers, having completely forgotten about the cold. "Sure," she meowed, swallowing nervously as she pressed into his side. "You know, we should hunt some time together, alone. Sandstorm can handle both apprentice's training on her own."

"I'm not going to abandon Thornpaw's training," Dustpelt meowed firmly, pausing.

Foxshadow flattened ears, already catching on to Dustpelt's stubbornness. "He's almost a warrior," Foxshadow argued, and repeated just so she could be clear; "and Sandstorm can handle them."

Dustpelt twitched his whiskers, eyes relaxing. "True, but I want to spend time with my apprentice while I still have that time." He studied her, whiskers twitching thoughtfully. "Is something wrong?"

She opened her mouth to explain and hesitated. "Well, remember what I said this morning? I'm planning to expose Tigerclaw tomorrow after the dawn patrol."

"Oh?" Dustpelt narrowed his eyes. "How?"

"Well, today he's going to remind the whole Clan of his story of what happened to Redtail," meowed Foxshadow, "and tomorrow I'm going to tell everyone how wrong he is."

The young warrior frowned and glanced towards where Tigerclaw rested underneath the Highrock. "What do you mean?"

"Just wait," she meowed, pressing her nose into his shoulder. "And remember that not every cat is who they say they are."

Dustpelt gave an unhappy nod. "You shouldn't talk that way about Tigerclaw. He's our deputy."

"Perhaps not after tomorrow," meowed Foxshadow, suddenly regretting telling him. If he was this bothered by it, he might tell Tigerclaw just to clear his conscious. "Besides, I won't be telling him anything he shouldn't already know."

Dustpelt shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like this talk."

"You will like it less tomorrow," she meowed. "If I'm wrong, then Tigerclaw and you won't have anything to worry about."

"And if you're right?"

Foxshadow's fur bristled. "Then you will agree he doesn't deserve to be our leader, let alone our deputy. Not now and not ever."

When Mousefur and Bluestar emerged from the lichen, Fireheart, Brackenfur and Ravenfeather had gathered together in front of the warrior's den. Foxshadow twitched excitedly and turned her attention to Tigerclaw, who rose as the two approached him. Bluestar said something to Tigerclaw and bounded up the rocks to address the Clan.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Most of the Clan had already gathered, but Foxshadow noticed Willowpelt and Goldenflower exit the nursery together. The golden she-cat's ears twitched nervously and she looked fearfully up at Mousefur.

Bluestar yowled. "A question was raised to me by our loyal warrior Mousefur concerning what happened at Sunningrocks the day our deputy, Redtail, died." She dipped her head in memory and most of the Clan followed her lead. "Tigerclaw, can you tell us what happened that day?"

Foxshadow rose to her paws. "Yes, remind us what you said happened!" She felt the eyes of her Clanmates on her and gazed out over them with a tiny shake of her head. A few seemed understand the gesture and looked toward Tigerclaw.

With a twitch of his ears, Tigerclaw rose to his paws. "Of course, Bluestar." He raised his head over the Clan and meowed. "Redtail lead our patrol against the Sunningrocks in the hopes of claiming back from them. He raced off to confront Oakheart and I fought Blackclaw on top of some smooth rocks. I sent him packing." - Foxshadow shifted in excitement, heart pounding. - "When I turned around, Ravenfeather, then Ravenpaw, was fighting Heavystep, then Heavypaw. I knew he could not defeat the stronger apprentice, so I ordered him to retreat and chased the tom off on my own. It was then I heard Oakheart's yowl, blood dripping from his maw, and he declared that he had killed Redtail. In a rage, I attacked him. We fought and he fell down the rocks, hitting his head. I checked his breathe but he wasn't breathing, his eyes staring lifelessly towards the river. I found Redtail's body and brought him back to camp."

Brackenfur rose to his paws. "Did we win that battle?" he asked.

"No," meowed Tigerclaw, ear twitching.

"Why didn't the RiverClan cats who stay behind not attack you?" the young warrior asked, looking at Foxshadow, but she stubbornly kept her gaze on Tigerclaw. Brackenfur continued. "Surely they didn't retreat?"

"Perhaps they we're allowing me to leave with my dead Clanmate," he meowed, shoulder fur bristling.

Mousefur stood up. "After you had killed Oakheart? Does that even make sense?" She looked pointedly at the crowd.

An uncertain murmur rippled through the Clan. Tigerclaw's eyes flashed in understanding. He raised his head. "I know what I did was wrong," he meowed stiffly, his gaze locking on Mousefur's. "But it happened just as I said."

Mousefur's tail-tip twitched and she looked away, fur ruffled.

Foxshadow rose to her paws. "I think it's good for us to hear how Redtail died. Let us keep this story fresh in our mind for tomorrow." She looked at Brackenfur, then Mousefur, and then let her gaze sweep the Clan. The meaning was clear. "Redtail was a noble warrior, and it is only right that we hear the truth of his death and remember and honor him in the days to come."

The Clan murmured in agreement, some glancing curiously at Tigerclaw while others simply rose and returned to their dens. The dark storm which had gathered over the Clan since that morning did not dispel. Some questions remained unanswered. She dipped her head first to Tigerclaw then Mousefur, giving the older she-cat a sly wink. Bluestar bounded down the rock.

"Tigerclaw," Foxshadow meowed, "is it all right if I gather a few cats for the dawn patrol?"

"Of course," meowed Tigerclaw, ears twitching.

Dipping her head again, Foxshadow turned to Fireheart. "Brackenfur, Ravenfeather, I would like you to go on the dawn patrol with me. Get some sleep." With a pleased twitch of her whiskers, she gestured for Fireheart to follow and padded into the warriors den.

A heartbeat later, Fireheart joined her, his fur twitching. "What are you planning?" he asked, eyes narrowed in distrust.

"What needs to be done," she meowed, her voice quiet. "It would look weird to Tigerclaw if I asked you to join the dawn patrol so I need you to wake up early and go out hunting instead. Have you spoken to Graystripe yet?"

"Yes, he promised to speak with Leopardfur." Fireheart looked uncomfortable in his short fur and he shivered. "I hope this works."

"It will and now that the Clan has heard Tigerclaw's story first hand and have doubts about it thanks to Brackenfur and Mousefur, we can finally deal with it tomorrow without worry of him changing the details to counter us. This is going perfectly." Her fur fluffed up in pleasure before she quickly flattened it. "Knock on wood."

"What?" Fireheart blinked.

"Nothing, just an old kittypet expression," she meowed. "I'll wake you early tomorrow. Go to sleep."

She watched him settled down in his nest. Tomorrow was going to be the day Tigerclaw was exiled. Tomorrow, she would hunt Tigerclaw down when the fool slept on ThunderClan territory, just like he did in Tigerclaw's Fury, and she was going to kill him, ending the threat on all their lives forever.

* * *

Something or someone prodded Foxshadow awake that morning. It was still dark outside, slightly purple as they entered the morning red twilight hours. A ThunderClan tom's scent touched her nose, unfamiliar and yet not so unfamiliar. Her thoughts turned to Sandstorm and Brindleface, and she wondered if they were related somehow. She shook herself and stood, and the smell faded. She padded around the den carefully to where Fireheart's nest was and jabbed a paw carefully into his side. He made an noise, and she jabbed harder. He lifted his head and blinked tiredly into the twilight, before his green eyes adjusted to the gloom and he focused on her strange, glowing sun-gold eyes.

"It's time to get up," she meowed. "Get Ravenfeather."

He nodded and rose to his paws. She padded around the cats in a familiar dance, touching her nose to Brackenfur's shoulder. She jabbed him in the ribs, making him grunt awake.

"Time to go," she meowed softly. "Give your eyes a second to focus."

Her former apprentice blinked his amber eyes piercing the darkness far more easily than her yellow ones. Foxshadow carefully padded around the nests to the entrance, as she had done for many long nights before, and stepped out into the sky was turning from a velvety purple to a dark reddish purple.

She went to the freshkill pile and selected a squirrel, then gestured for Brackenfur to follow her to the camp's entrance. They ate quietly as Ravenfeather and Fireheart emerged from the dirtplace and grabbed their own pieces of prey from the freshkill pile. They ate quickly before Foxshadow rose and gestured for them all to follow. She carried the scraps of prey out of camp and buried it outside. Everyone followed her lead.

The patrol huddled together at the bottom of the ravine, bushing out their fur against the cold wind. Foxshadow finally stood up and rushed up the ravine, stopping at the top to look back towards the camp. As the rest of the patrol gathered around her, she nodded to herself in satisfaction when Tigerclaw did not appear. With a wave of her tail, she led the patrol to the RiverClan border.

It felt strange to have the clearing and Sunningrocks on their right instead of their left and her fur warmed in pride at the reminder of her victory. She checked the border to make sure no RiverClan patrol had passed and was satisfied that the lazy cats still kept checking their borders a full hour after the ThunderClan cats had.

"After we finish the marking," she told them, "we'll rest on Sunningrocks for a patrol to pass by."

They rushed to finish the border patrol, and Foxshadow forced them all to slow down and do it properly. There was no reason to do a sloppy border patrol. When Foxshadow rubbed her cheek against the last thick bush alongside the river, she called the patrol to a halt and led everyone to Sunningrocks. With a relieved purr, she leaped up to the highest rock and stretched out on it.

Her thoughts turned to her battle to win Sunningrocks, but they quickly soured when she remembered the three apprentices she had scared half to death. Heavystep probably didn't think the world of her, especially since she had abandoned him mid-fight to pull it off. She scanned the other side of the river, hoping he would not appear. That was one cat she could not count on to retell the story of Sunningrocks. Blackclaw was a much more respectable cat to ask and all the Clans knew him better.

The sun rose a tail's width over the horizon when dark, familiar shapes slipped soundlessly into the river to the far west of them, before stepping out, dripping, on the first part of their border with ThunderClan. Foxshadow rose to her paws and gestured with her tail for her fellow cats to follow, abandoning the slowly warming rocks to greet the patrol. Foxshadow sniffed the air and recognized the scent of Stonefur among them.

"RiverClan!" she yowled catching their attention. She halted on her side of the border where the bushes were thinnest and continued a tad quieter. "A moment of your time, please."

The RiverClan cats took a few minutes before they arrived at the spot. The leader of the group, Stonefur, sniffed the border carefully, as if checking to make sure the ThunderClan cats hadn't crossed it.

"We need to talk," meowed Foxshadow, getting straight to business. "Rumors are circulating around ThunderClan concerning the death of one of your prior deputies. They claim that Oakheart killed Redtail before he was killed by our current deputy." She studied his face carefully. "If you value the honor of RiverClan's dead, Stonefur, there are a few questions we would like a few of your Clanmates to answer."

The tabby's dark amber eyes narrowed into slits as he scanned the ThunderClan patrol. His expression had become as stoney as his name. "Why would ThunderClan cats be interested in the honor of a dead RiverClan cat?"

Foxshadow flicked her ears. "Our current deputy is the one who made the claim that he killed Oakheart personally to avenge Redtail." She watched him closely and noted his tail-tip twitching. "If Tigerclaw's story is true, then he killed your deputy out of vengeance for Redtail's death. In this story, Tigerclaw is a murderer, by accident or not. It calls into question why RiverClan did not blame him for Oakheart's death." She paused. "If his story is false, and if our deputy did kill Redtail himself, then I wonder what might happen to RiverClan if a murderer became leader of ThunderClan."

Stonefur's eyes widened. His gaze shifted to Fireheart's. "I see."

She looked at Whiteclaw and the last cat of their patrol, a lighter female replica of Stonefur. "We cannot confirm this without RiverClan help."

"And it's in our best interested," Stonefur meowed thoughtfully. "Who do you need to speak to?"

"We are not asking to speak with anyone, Stonefur," meowed Foxshadow, "we are asking Crookedstar for permission to bring them to our camp and speak to the whole Clan."

"Who?" meowed Stonefur.

"Blackclaw, about whatever he remembers from the Sunningrocks when Oakheart died," began Foxshadow, "Mudfur, to officially confirm what killed Oakheart. And, of course, Crookedstar himself as character witness."

"That is a lot to ask," Stonefur accused. "How do we know we can trust you?"

She twitched her whiskers unhappily. "You can't."

For a heartbeat, Stonefur simply stared at Foxshadow. "Very well. I will speak to Crookedstar about this. He has the final say."

Foxshadow dipped her head gratefully. "ThunderClan waits for his response."

Stonefur nodded and gestured for his patrol to follow him back to camp. The three warriors disappeared quickly into the river and rushed up the other side into RiverClan territory. Foxshadow scanned the banks for the RiverClan camp but realized quickly that she was too far west to see it around the bend.

Brackenfur broke the silence. "Why did you ask for Crookedstar?"

"Oakheart is Crookedstar's brother. If anyone is going to help clear his name, Crookedstar is. Besides, my hope is that he will also have heard Leopardfur's confession and be willing to tell it in front of the Clans. Otherwise, Tigerclaw has no motive for anything he has done. If I asked for Leopardfur directly, I would be calling into question the heritage of her kits. We don't need more reason to fight RiverClan than we have already."

The pale brown tabby dipped his head in understanding. "But, what are you wanting to accomplish? Why go to all these lengths to discredit Tigerclaw?"

Foxshadow lifted her head. "It would be better," she admitted, "to announce his treachery at a Gathering. I would feel much better if all the Clans were chasing after him, but it's hard to convince cats who have no interest in the cats involved to care about the situation. If I were to pitch the idea that he could have been the next Brokenstar, I might have both WindClan and ShadowClan support, but DarkClan might only be interested in making him their leader. I don't want that. DarkClan shouldn't know about Tigerclaw, especially with their current leader problems. That would only make him a future problem for all the Clans."

Nightstar had his nine lives, so ShadowClan wouldn't be threatened by Tigerclaw. But what of DarkClan, who still had no leader? StarClan accepted Tigerclaw as leader of ShadowClan despite what he had done. Foxshadow felt a flash of resentment towards StarClan for that. "I would feel bad if DarkClan decided to accept Tigerclaw as their leader and he gained his nine lives from the Dark Forest, just like Brokenstar did before Raggedstar and I defeated him." And if Tigerclaw did become leader of DarkClan, would he seek revenge against RiverClan for revealing his treachery? A chill swept through her fur.

"Raggedstar?" meowed Brackenfur in shock. "You mean he really did fight in the battle at Four Trees?"

Fireheart gave Foxshadow a long look. "No, Brokenstar mistook Foxshadow for him. That's all."

Foxshadow rose to her paws and faced Fireheart. "Believe what you will, Fireheart, but Raggedstar was there. He was fighting alongside me when I faced Brokenstar and when I dragged Brokenstar's body up the slopes. When we reached the gorge, we separated and Raggedstar carried Brokenstar right over the edge." She turned away from them and sat down. "During our fight, Raggedstar told Brokenstar that I was protecting his spirit from harm and that I had more power than all of Dark Forest or StarClan. It is no wonder, then, why Tigerclaw would see me as an ideal successor for deputyship. Brokenstar must have told him from his place in the Dark Forest."

"When Brokenstar mistook you for Raggedstar in ShadowClan," meowed Fireheart, sounding disturbed, "I never realized that it was actually him."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "but I prefer not to talk about it. I know it is hard to believe." She looked at them. "But if you are interested, maybe I can tell you the story later."

"I would love to hear it," meowed Brackenfur, honestly.

 _If I can survive today._ Foxshadow twitched her ears. "Quiet now, we don't want their patrol overhearing."

Just as she said this, five shapes entered the water across from them. Crookedstar emerged from the water first, not even bothering to shake his fur out as he stepped up on land. His pelt was wet and sleek, the water turning it a darker gray than normal. His amber eyes flashed as he looked at the four ThunderClan cats. Stonefur, Heavystep and Blackclaw were a paw's width behind him, along with Mudfur. The ancient medicine cat padded carefully up to them and gave Fireheart a friendly and familiar nod.

Foxshadow dipped her head to Crookedstar. "Have you come to hear us out?"

"Yes," meowed Crookedstar. "My deputy told me as much as he was able, but I want to hear everything."

Foxshadow twitched her ears uncomfortably, wondering what could most interest Crookedstar. "The day Fireheart joined ThunderClan, there was a battle at Sunningrocks. During that battle, Tigerclaw claims that Oakheart killed Bluestar's favorite deputy, then Tigerclaw killed Oakheart in retaliation." Crookedstar's eyes flashed. "Bluestar never questioned whether or not Tigerclaw's story was true. We have evidence to prove that Tigerclaw was lying about what happened."

"Of course he is!" snapped Blackclaw, a rare flash of emotion across his face. "Oakheart never killed Redtail!"

Crookedstar silenced his senior warrior with a wave of his tail.

Giving Blackclaw an unhappy look, Foxshadow continued, gesturing to the black ThunderClan tom. "Ravenfeather witnessed Redtail's death first hand. However, Tigerclaw has spent all of Ravenfeather's life discrediting his abilities, including his ability to recount tales accurately. We hope that, with Blackclaw's help, we can prove to the Clan that he is telling the truth."

Blackclaw rumbled in approval, long fur bushed and twitching.

"Why Mudfur?" meowed Crookedstar.

"Our medicine cat is valued highly in ThunderClan. She won't tolerate anyone discrediting anyone that walks with StarClan." Foxshadow twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Not even Tigerclaw. In that sense, Mudfur's word is as good as Bluestar's herself."

Crookedstar nodded. "And me?"

Foxshadow studied Crookedstar's expression but he remained stoic. "As leader of RiverClan, I hoped you would know if Tigerclaw might have tried to influence one of your cats." Crookedstar straightened, eyes widening a fraction in surprise. "But, mostly, you are here to see your brother's spirit put properly to rest."

The RiverClan leader nodded stiffly and rose to his paws. "Before we go anywhere, I wish to speak with Foxshadow alone." He gestured to his fellow cats. "Stay here."

Foxshadow glanced at Mudfur. "Can I trust your medicine cat won't help ambush my cats?"

Crookedstar made to respond but Mudfur spoke first. "Though I once was a warrior of ThunderClan, I am a healer of my Clan. I will not raise a paw against your warriors while you are gone."

The fox-colored she-cat sniffed at Mudfur and gave a sharp nod. "I will take your word for it, medicine cat. If you have lied, I am not going to be very happy with Yellowfang." She dipped her head. "You understand."

Mudfur dipped his head. Satisfied, Foxshadow gave her patrol a wave of her tail to settle down and padded after the RiverClan medicine cat. They settled down beneath a thick bush and Foxshadow felt uncomfortable in such close quarters with the slightly larger tom-cat.

"What do you know of Leopardfur?" Crookedstar half-growled.

Foxshadow shot him a sharp look. "Only what Tigerclaw foolishly told me. Her kits are half-Clan, and last I heard she believed his dream to merge RiverClan and ThunderClan into one Clan."

"You spoke with her a few days ago," Crookedstar meowed. "Leopardfur said that you helped her to see how much blood would be spilled for his dream to become a reality."

"She came to her senses," meowed Foxshadow. "It takes great courage to tell their leader something like that, especially when her kits are in danger of being claimed by ThunderClan. I hope Bluestar can do the same."

Crookedstar's tail-tip twitched. "But what of her kits? Is ThunderClan planning to claim them?"

"I do not know. We are not in a position to take them. Our nursery is full with twelve kittens and another litter on the way. It's leaf-bare and our main supply of food was ravaged by a fox - the very same fox I killed and was put on our border." She glared at Crookedstar, daring him to even suggest that her Clan was weak. "We have been managing, but we will not be able to handle half-Clan kits. I personally have no interest in telling Bluestar. It is in my experience that kits belong to their mother's Clan and to take them away from one Clan is to divide the other."

"Who else knows?"

"Everyone on this patrol." Foxshadow narrowed her eyes at him and leaned into his face. "You could try killing all of us, but I must tell you something, Crookedstar. I know how to kill a leader in one swipe of my claws. Brokenstar told me how when he confessed to killing his father. Even if you kill me, you won't be living long enough to defend Leopardfur's kits."

It was a low blow and Foxshadow knew from the expression on Crookedstar's face that he wasn't expecting it. Suddenly, the dark gray tabby realized that he should be more careful with his language in her presence.

"You won't take Leopardfur's kits?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow, "and I've already told you why. Think of this as an opportunity, Crookedstar. If you help me drive out Tigerclaw, ThunderClan will have less of a claim on her kits. Even if someone else does tell Bluestar eventually, less cats would be willing to support it."

"And what do _you_ get out of this?" Crookedstar meowed, glaring.

Foxshadow stood up and faced Crookedstar and hissed. "What makes you think I am going to get anything out of this? For the last moon, cats have been telling me I'd make a good deputy of ThunderClan just because Tigerclaw suggested it. I have more to lose from him leaving than anyone alive. He supports me, wants me to become his deputy after he's killed Bluestar, and he wants me to help lead the charge against RiverClan like his own personal pet dog." She sucked in a breath. "I'm just trying to kick him out as painlessly as possible for everyone else. For my kit and for a better future for ThunderClan."

A silence hung between them. Crookedstar stared at her with wide eyes. After a while, he rose to his paws and padded out of the bush.

"I think I understand the situation clearly," he announced. "More than just Oakheart's honor rides on this. I cannot stand by and let this happen. My brother was a great deputy and a loyal member of RiverClan. I won't tolerate the thought of even one cat thinking he was capable of murder and I won't tolerate the cat who muddied his name being a deputy or leader of any Clan."

Foxshadow could hardly believe her ears as she padded out of the bushes behind him. Neither did the other ThunderClan cats.

Crookedstar looked at Stonefur. "Take Heavystep and head back to camp. I'm leaving you in charge until I return."

The RiverClan deputy dipped his head and turned to the river. Heavystep shot a last look at Foxshadow, promising retribution if any harm came to their leader. Foxshadow gave a slight nod, a surge of relief spreading through her whole body.

"Allow me to lead the way, Crookedstar," she meowed softly before barking out orders to the ThunderClan cats. "Brackenfur, stay with Mudfur, Ravenfeather with Blackclaw. Fireheart, flank Crookedstar."

After the ThunderClan patrol had the RiverClan's surrounded, Foxshadow led them straight towards the ThunderClan camp. She spoke to Crookedstar. "Yesterday, I had one of our warriors convince Tigerclaw to tell his version of events. He went into a lot of detail, so that's the first thing I plan to tackle. With Mudfur's help, I hope to at least plant a seed of doubt in his story. Then, I want Blackclaw to tell the Clan how he would have reacted if he saw Tigerclaw killed Oakheart, even by accident, on top of Sunningrocks. After that, Blackclaw tells his story. Finally, Ravenfeather tells his story." She looked at Crookedstar. "Hopefully by the time we are done, we will have convinced the Clan that not only is Tigerclaw a liar but he is also the real murderer of Redtail."

"What exactly did Tigerclaw say in his story?"

Without even looking at the RiverClan leader, Foxshadow recounted Tigerclaw's tall-tale for the rest of the trip to the ravine.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this is unexpected. Hm.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Next update is Saturday!**


	44. Forest of Secrets pt 17

**A/N: I have been having computer troubles so I'm not sure if I will have the next chapter updated tomorrow. Stay tuned.  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: His grave stone will say "I really didn't think this through."  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Aw. Oh well. Can you remember what non-biological relationships he had? Onestar, Tallstar, etc.?  
**

 **AnonChan1: Well, Midol is basically just caffeine and sugar. Not sure how well they would react to that. (A) These incomplete thoughts here are killing me. What were you going to say? (B) That was a fun line to write. (C) IT'S OKAY. EVERYTHING IS FINE. NO ONE IS DEAD. JUST KEEP WALKING, SAH. (D) Yes, you have. I love it. (E) She wants kits and is not expecting them.  
**

 **Stormbreeze: :3  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: Thank you for your review. Brightheart/Brightface has been fixed!  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: *fans* Don't pass out.  
**

 **lemon: I don't think you have! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!**

 **Skyfeet: I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

* * *

Foxshadow ran her plan through her mind for one final time as she led the RiverClan cats down into ThunderClan's camp. Only a few cats were in camp and she guessed from their numbers the sunhigh patrol and a hunting patrol had already left. Dustpelt, Tigerclaw, Longtail and Sandstorm were missing along with their apprentices.

Ignoring the curious cats as they began to gather, she turned to Fireheart. "Get Bluestar."

The orange ticked tabby nodded and rushed off.

She looked at Brackenfur. "Find Runningwind and Swiftpaw and tell them to bring back the patrols."

Her former apprentice gave the RiverClan cats a warning glance before haring off.

Finally, Foxshadow looked at the nearest ThunderClan warriors and gestured with her tail for them to approach. Mousefur bounded towards them and took up a position next to Mudfur, while Brightface padded more cautiously to sit beside Blackclaw. Satisfied that the RiverClan cats were properly guarded, she padded towards the medicine cat den.

"Yellowfang, Mistlepaw," she meowed, "are you both here?"

A kitten's mewl greeted her and a tiny wobbly white kitten padded towards her, blinking wide blue eyes at the sunlight. The three moon old kit didn't speak, only watching her curiously. A heartbeat later, Mistlepaw padded out and pinned the kitten between her forelegs to prevent him from running away. The medicine cat apprentice looked up at Foxshadow, wide mismatching eyes blinking innocently.

"Take Cloudkit to Brindleface," meowed Foxshadow. "Keep him away from Darkkit or he'll end up scratched again. Then, fetch Yellowfang. We need her before we can begin."

Mistlepaw gave a quiet nod, grabbed Cloudkit, and rushed to the nursery. Foxshadow decided not to comment on her silence, guessing the cause had something to do with a goose and a feather. She padded back to the RiverClan cats and sat down next to Crookedstar.

"We begin once everyone is here," she meowed quietly. "We need Tigerclaw and Yellowfang both here. I apologize for the wait."

Crookedstar gave a tiny nod in understanding but remained silent, his gaze on Bluestar's den. They waited a few moments before Bluestar came out of her den, fur ruffled. The moment of truth had arrived. Foxshadow rose to her paws as if to speak but stopped when Bluestar gestured for silence.

"Crookedstar," she meowed with a tiny bow. Her tail lashed in barely contained anger. "I am surprised to see you here."

Foxshadow didn't even look at Crookedstar, studying Bluestar's agitated tail and shoulders as if she was trying to figure out the exact level of moodiness in her neighbor's grumpy old cat. Crookedstar spoke calmly.

"I've heard the rumors about what ThunderClan thinks happened to Redtail and Oakheart," meowed Crookedstar firmly, eyes narrowed. "I am hear to clear my brother's name."

"Who told you?" Bluestar half-snapped, her piercing blue eyes landing accusingly on Foxshadow.

The massive she-cat raised her head and spoke calmly. "You won't believe Ravenfeather, so I had to bring in more witnesses. I don't have to tell you what Tigerclaw said; you heard it clearly yesterday. But perhaps you'll start to question him once you hear what an experienced and wise medicine cat has to say about what really killed Oakheart."

After staring at Foxshadow for a moment longer, Bluestar's gaze turned to the brown RiverClan tom. "Mudfur?"

The ancient medicine cat matched Bluestar's evenly. "Oakheart died being crushed by rocks," he meowed. "He was not killed by falling down Sunningrocks or by the fangs or claws of any cat."

Bluestar stared at Mudfur for so long that Foxshadow thought she was experiencing the blue screen affect. The blue-gray she-cat looked sharply at her and meowed, "Foxshadow, a word."

Foxshadow dipped her head and rose to her paws to follow Bluestar into her den, the dread which had knotted her belly for the last two days had melted away. Bluestar had begun to doubt. Even if RiverClan was turned away and Foxshadow banished, Tigerclaw's reputation had suffered a major blow.

The majestic leader of ThunderClan turned to face Foxshadow, her fur ruffled and piercing gaze in a glare. "You think I won't believe Ravenfeather."

It was a statement not a question, but Foxshadow treated it as one. "Would you have believed a frightened, timid apprentice if he came to you and told you that Tigerclaw murdered your own deputy?" She leveled her own glare back at her leader, fur spiking along her spine. "Would you have believed him if he had been made a warrior or would you have dismissed it as him being exhausted from the battle and seeing things?" Foxshadow lifted her head. "No, of course not. When Lionheart and Whitestorm died, you probably thought that StarClan was giving you a sign he was meant to bet he next deputy. Am I wrong?"

"Is that what you think of me?" Bluestar mewed, her voice softer with growing realization.

"Tigerclaw told me a funny story a few moons ago," meowed Foxshadow. "He said that he and his mentor went looking for your kits after they disappeared. He thinks you killed them, threw them in the river to drown. I asked myself, how can he say this about you and yet treat you with so much respect? Of course, I know you didn't kill the kits. No mother with such a level head on their shoulders could. Something else happened to them." Foxshadow sucked in a steadying breathe. "Now, all I can think about is why you still believe that Oakheart would kill your favorite deputy. He knew what the leadership position meant to you. Why do you think he would want to destroy you?"

Bluestar's eyes were huge. She looked like a cat whose world was crashing down around their ears.

"Before you kick me out," Foxshadow said hurriedly, "you need to hear their story. Ravenfeather, Fireheart, Brackenfur - they think the world of you and they care about you. They're afraid of what Tigerclaw might do to you if any part of Ravenfeather's story is true. Today, their fears need to be put to rest. Blackclaw, Crookedstar and Mudfur are the key to that. The truth of what happened to Redtail and Oakheart, whatever it may be, needs to be revealed to all of us, _for_ all of us. Prove _me_ wrong."

Foxshadow grew silent, watching Bluestar nervously.

The blue-gray queen turned away. "I never killed my kits. I gave them away to him."

"I know," meowed Foxshadow, praying to StarClan that Bluestar's trust in her was still strong, "and I know why you had to give them away. I may not agree with what happened, but what is done is done. You saved your kits, your Clan, and today you can do it again. Listen to them. Judge Tigerclaw as he truly is, secrets and everything. Be the brave, wise and wonderful leader you were always meant to be. For your daughter and son, for Fireheart, for StarClan."

The queen was quiet. "How would the Clan judge me, if they knew my secrets?" She sounded distressed.

Foxshadow felt her heart go out to her leader. Her voice grew soft. "I cannot say for sure, but I think they will understand. After all, you didn't kill them." Her voice became firm. "You did what you did for the Clan. Who is Tigerclaw killing for? Who is betraying for? Why is he doing it? I have an answer, Bluestar. I very good answer for you, but you must hear the whole story first or you won't believe it. No cat in their right mind would."

A disquiet silence filled the den. Foxshadow felt unaffected by it, feeling strangely content as she waited. Finally, Bluestar rose to her paws, her mind made up.

"I will hear what you have to say." She stared Foxshadow in the eye. "I'll prove to you and the whole Clan that I can be wise and fair."

Foxshadow blinked warmly at her leader and purred. "Bluestar, you are wise to make this decision. I hope I do you, ThunderClan and Tigerclaw honor with everything we have prepared for you to hear and see."

Bluestar nodded, but she looked numb. She padded out into the clearing and Foxshadow followed. Every cat in ThunderClan had gathered, Goldenflower included. Foxshadow searched the golden tabby's expression for resentment, but she merely looked worried. Finally, Foxshadow looked up at Bluestar.

"Cats of ThunderClan," meowed Bluestar, "I thought we could lay to rest any questions about Tigerclaw's story yesterday but Foxshadow has brought to my attention evidence that suggest that Tigerclaw might be lying about what happened at Sunningrocks."

Silence greeted this remark. The whole Clan was holding in its collective breath.

"That's ridiculous!" Tigerclaw rose from his spot in the ground, his pelt perfectly smooth as if it had been freshly groomed. He glared angrily at Foxshadow, as if the heat of it alone would shut her up. "I would never lie to my Clan!"

Bluestar hesitated. Foxshadow stared coldly at Tigerclaw, unaffected. The dark warrior had no idea that his remark had dug himself a shallow grave.

"Foxshadow," meowed Bluestar. "Please explain yourself."

"I will and gladly, Bluestar," she meowed with a respectful bow. She turned to ThunderClan and rose to her full height. She towered over every cat, except the three RiverClan cats. "Everyone remembers Tigerclaw's story, correct? Does anyone wish for it to be repeated?"

Most of the cats present had heard the story and understood it. Foxshadow knew they wouldn't need it repeated, but for the sake of argument she decided that a summation was needed. "Tigerclaw battled Blackclaw and chased him off" - said black warrior gave a low growl at this comment but Crookedstar shushed him -"Redtail died from a killing blow. To avenge him, Tigerclaw attack Oakheart and Oakheart fell from the rocks, smashing his head on a rock and dying." Her gaze swept the Clan, sun-gold eyes blazing. "Tigerclaw, is this correct?"

"Yes," meowed Tigerclaw, his tail-tip twitching nervously. "This is exactly what happened."

Foxshadow dipped her head respectfully to him, her eyes narrowing slyly. "Mudfur was once a warrior of RiverClan. He grew up as an apprentice and learned the warrior code like everyone else here. But that doesn't make him any less of a good medicine cat. He has seen many wounds and injuries in his lifetime. He knows when a cat has received a killing blow or when they have broken their neck falling down a height. Mudfur, please repeat what you told Bluestar."

The dark warrior stiffened and glared at the RiverClan medicine cat. Unaffected, the ancient brown cat rose to his full height. His heavily scarred pelt drew every cat's attention and his powerful voice, which once barked out commands during a battle, demanded respect. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle with tiny stars as he met the eyes of every warrior in ThunderClan.

"Oakheart was crushed to death by falling rocks."

His voice was like the death toll of a Church bell. Foxshadow stared unblinkingly at Tigerclaw, her ears relaxed and gaze hooded. She looked almost solemn.

"That's a lie," snarled Tigerclaw.

"You dare call a medicine cat a liar?" rasped the small figure of Yellowfang, raggedy fur bushed, her flinty yellow gaze zeroing in on Tigerclaw like a hawk on a mouse. Her lips pulled back to reveal blackened and yellow teeth. "Do you think we are all stupid that we can't tell the difference between a minor head wound and crushed bones?"

Tigerclaw snarled at her, his long claws digging into the ground. "How can we trust ShadowClan's former medicine cat?" He looked sharply at Mudfur. "Or a RiverClan one? He used to be a warrior!"

Said RiverClan cat stared at Tigerclaw, the stars in his eyes sparkling. "Even a warrior can tell the difference between a tom crushed under a rock or one killed when he landed on his head."

Tigerclaw sank his claws into the earth, muscles twitching as he held himself back from pouncing.

"Tigerclaw," Bluestar meowed, her tone disapproving. "Let them speak."

The dark warrior flashed a looked up at Bluestar, his expression unreadable. After a heartbeat, he sheathed his claws.

Foxshadow rose smoothly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Thank you, Mudfur," she meowed, dipping her head towards the medicine cat.

The medicine cat dipped his head to Foxshadow and sat down. The Clan was silent, waiting. Foxshadow looked up at Bluestar, blinked and padded up to RiverClan's black warrior.

"Blackclaw here is a senior warrior of RiverClan. He is respectable and strong, honorable and wise. He knows the warrior code better than anyone. He had to be; he taught many apprentices and has had to advise Crookedstar since Oakheart's death and even from before. Blackclaw, please tell us what you remember of the day that Redtail and Oakheart died."

The black tom rose to his full height. He was not as battle-scarred as Mudfur, but his muscles rippled under his sleek, oily pelt. His amber eyes flashed, as if daring any ThunderClan cat to speak over him.

"Our patrol had detected ThunderClan activity on our border the day before the fight. I remember that Oakheart was worried about Sunningrocks. It seemed the right time for them to try and take it back." Blackclaw gaze grew distant at the memory. "He gathered a patrol to sit out on the rocks and we waited for them to arrive. It wasn't long afterwards when Redtail showed up with Tigerclaw and the apprentice. I went straight for Tigerclaw."

The dark warrior twitched, but said nothing.

"Tigerclaw noticed his apprentice having trouble against Heavypaw and rushed to his rescue." Blackclaw dug his claws into the ground and glared at Tigerclaw. "Tigerclaw chased Heavypaw off, and ordered Ravenpaw to retreat. I struck Tigerclaw across the face. Then, there was the sound of thunder. Next thing I heard, Redtail came running passed and he shouted that Oakheart was dead. I knew that I had no choice but to flee, so I raced across the river to join Heavypaw and report what happened to Crookedstar."

Foxshadow waved her tail for Blackclaw to stop, though he had already ended his speech. "Thank you, Blackclaw." The black warrior dipped his head. "ThunderClan, please recall what Ravenfeather had said when he returned from the battle that day. Can anyone remember what he said?"

"Redtail is dead," meowed Dustpelt, his whiskers drooping unhappily. His gaze fell on his brother. "But Redtail isn't dead yet."

A few cats nodded their heads, remembering that day so long ago.

"Ravenfeather, would you be so kind as to explain what happened to Redtail?"

"I head back to camp right away," meowed Ravenfeather. "But then I remembered that Redtail was still back there, fighting Oakheart. I raced back to Sunningrocks to see what happened. That's when I heard the sound of thunder. I crouched in the bushes because I didn't want to get in trouble. Then I saw Redtail, blood dripping from his maw, and he yowled, 'Oakheart is dead!' I saw Blackclaw race towards the river... and I saw Tigerclaw hide in the bushes as Redtail came our way. I was about to race out and greet him when... when Tigerclaw attacked him and killed him."

In the silence that followed, Foxshadow looked at Tigerclaw. The dark warrior almost looked smug.

"Everyone knows how much Ravenfeather's stories change," he meowed. "He and the RiverClan cat probably spoke to each other before coming here, just to collaborate their story."

"I wonder how many cats you told that little tall tale to," meowed Foxshadow calmly. "Ravenfeather's story hasn't changed since I first met him. Fireheart, you've heard it more times than I have. Has it changed?"

Fireheart shook his head. "No."

The massive brown-and-white she-cat stood and bushed her long fur, revealing the bright ginger fur underneath that made her look almost fox-like. "Longtail, when Tigerclaw told you that little fib, how many cats did you tell?"

Mousefur gave a low growl. "Practically everyone who could hear it."

"And who spread rumors of Ravenfeather being a ShadowClan traitor? I know Darkstripe did. Longtail?"

The black golden tabby, his long fur rippling as he shook under the weight of all eyes on him, meowed loudly. "Tigerclaw told me to!"

Tigerclaw glared furiously at the young warrior, but his head snapped to Foxshadow.

"I wonder why," Foxshadow meowed wryly.

The gathered ThunderClan cats burst into mutterings, looking distrustfully towards the dark warrior. Foxshadow barely noticed Fireheart shift beside the RiverClan cats, his gaze locked on Tigerclaw as Tigerclaw stared down Foxshadow.

"Is it true?" meowed Dustpelt. "Did you kill Redtail?"

"Why?" meowed Runningwind. He looked imploringly at Foxshadow. "Why would he do such a thing?"

Foxshadow looked at Tigerclaw. "Would you prefer to explain or should I?"

The dark warrior hissed at her. "Everything I have ever done has been for the benefit of ThunderClan!"

His amber eyes locked with her glowing sun-gold ones. She rose to her paws and meowed loud enough for all to hear. "Two days ago, Tigerclaw took me aside to meet a RiverClan she-cat. She had recently given birth to a litter of four kittens. I asked her what they looked like and one of them looks exactly like his father, Tigerclaw." She let those words carry over the ThunderClan cats. "He told me that he planned to unite RiverClan and ThunderClan, with him as leader over them all and me as his deputy. The RiverClan she-cat agreed with him, but I understood better than her what he was suggesting and told her as much. In order for Tigerclaw to rule over both RiverClan and ThunderClan in his new TigerClan, he would have to kill the leader of ThunderClan and the leader and deputy of RiverClan. This RiverClan cat has since confessed to Crookedstar everything Tigerclaw has told me. He can confirm whether or not I am wrong."

The she-cat turned her gaze to the RiverClan leader. He rose to his paws and nodded. "Everything she has said about this RiverClan cat is true. I will not reveal her name."

"It's Leopardfur," meowed Mousefur meowed. "Everyone knows she had to step down because of kits."

Crookedstar's ears twitched, but before the whole Clan could erupt into noise, Foxshadow interrupted them with an angry yowl.

"The rumors he has spread about me being a good deputy was to plant the idea of me being his deputy after he became leader, but I will not stand being a warrior to a power mad, murdering tom like Tigerclaw! Not as a warrior and never as a deputy. I knew right away that Tigerclaw needed to be stopped and everything Ravenfeather and Fireheart had been telling me about him was true. He murdered Redtail, he could have murdered Lionheart as well, and I won't tolerate him putting Goldenflower's kits in harms way just to become leader of two Clans that will never get along!"

Yowls of agreement greeted this remark. From his perch on the apprentice's stump, Patchpelt blinked at her in approval. Dustpelt shot Tigerclaw a fierce glare.

"You killed my mentor!" he wailed. "I looked up to you! I trusted you!"

"You killed my father!" hissed Sandstorm, tail lashing and claws unsheathed.

"You killed my mate!" accused Brindleface, fur raised and teeth bared. "Did you kill Spottedleaf too?"

Crookedstar stepped forward. "I also learned from this she-cat," he yowled, silencing ThunderClan, "that he was the one who told us that Graystripe murdered Whitestorm and Lionheart."

"Graystripe would never murder anyone!" Willowpelt hissed.

"Did you kill Lionheart, too?" asked Brindleface, looking sick. "Both of my mates?"

Tigerclaw hissed and yowled. "ThunderClan, I have always served you faithfully!"

"Have you?" snarled Mousefur. "Sounds to me like you serve yourself!"

Hisses and yowls of agreement rose. Runningwind looked about ready to pounce. Tigerclaw lashed his tail and hissed, fear in his eyes as his Clanmates turned on him.

"Enough!"

The booming command from the Highrock silenced everyone. Bluestar's piecing blue gaze swept her Clan.

"I cannot forget all that I have heard today. It is clear to me that Tigerclaw can no longer be trusted to be deputy of my Clan." Bluestar looked sad. "I must ask that you step down from your position as deputy of ThunderClan, Tigerclaw."

"NO!"

It happened in a blur: Tigerclaw gave a mighty leap, long claws reaching for Bluestar's throat; Fireheart barrelled across the camp and made to slam into his side, and Foxshadow leaped, her claws extended for Tigerclaw's throat. Her claws hooked into dark brown fur and ripped all the way down to his underbelly. Tigerclaw shrieked as he fell, twisting and thrashing. Fireheart landed on top, pinning him. Foxshadow landed a tail length away. Blood stained the mud. Tigerclaw came to his senses quickly, and he glared up at Foxshadow. The massive she-cat stared at him, her face blank.

"Tigerclaw," meowed Bluestar, her voice trembling slightly. "You are here-by banished from ThunderClan. If you are caught on ThunderClan territory at dawn tomorrow, we will kill you."

The dark warrior rose to his paws, blood dripping from the long shallow scratch running down his throat and belly. No one moved to help him up. The cats gathered were too stunned to even hiss at him as he limped towards the entrance. Foxshadow followed him with narrowed eyes.

The camp was still and silent as he left. With a sigh, Foxshadow's gaze swept the crowd, locking eyes with Goldenflower. The golden tabby she-cat was heartbroken. Her kits gathered around her to comfort her, with Bramblekit between her paws and watching the whole camp with confusion. When they eyes locked, Foxshadow blinked warmly at him.

 _I promised to protect Frostfur's kits,_ she thought to herself _,_ _but today I promise to protect them all as if they were mine._

"It is with great sadness that I say these words. With ThunderClan's deputy gone, a new one must take his place. I saw these before the spirits of Redtail, Lionheart and Whitestorm so that they may here and approve of my choice."

Foxshadow looked curiously up at Bluestar, surprised that she had her wits about her enough to make any decision regarding the next deputy.

"This cat has proven her loyalty to me and ThunderClan today. So it is only natural that the new deputy of ThunderClan be Foxshadow."

A chill swept up Foxshadow's spine. Her tail-tip twitched in uncertainty as she dipped her head to Bluestar. Her mouth felt dry. "Thank you for this honor, Bluestar."

The blue-gray leader leaped down from the Highrock and padded into her den. Foxshadow rose to her paws and padded towards Crookedstar. "Thank you for coming, Crookedstar. I hope both Oakheart's and Redtail's spirits can rest in StarClan."

Crookedstar's whiskers twitched. "I wish the same. Today has been fortunate for you."

Foxshadow twitched her own whiskers unhappily and nodded. "Mousefur, Brightface, Brackenfur, Ravenfeather please escort Crookedstar, Mudfur and Blackclaw back to their territory."

As they padded out of the camp, Foxshadow turned to Fireheart. "Go talk with Bluestar. After today, there's no telling what her mindset will be. She needs someone she trusts to be there for her."

He nodded and rushed to the leader's den. Foxshadow looked around.

"Dustpelt, Sandstorm, take your apprentices on the sunhigh patrol. If you spot one of ShadowClan's patrols, warn them of Tigerclaw's treachery. And if you find Tigerclaw on our territory... escort him off."

She had wanted to tell them to kill him, but restrained herself. She turned to Runningwind and Swiftpaw. "Once Mousefur returns, we are going to finally have your warrior assessment. No more waiting."

* * *

 **A/N: So, here's my review for Darkest Night. It's good. My favorite scenes were everything with Violetpaw. Alderheart is starting to become a three dimensional character, methinks. Maybe. *has a hard time identifying character development***

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas to all!**


	45. Forest of Secrets pt 18

**A/N: Hello and welcome to the last chapter of Forest of Secrets! Next chapter is going to be Rising Storm! Not sure when I'm going to post it. Probably Wednesday or Friday? It depends on whether or not we end up going to my Mema's.  
**

 **Pepita: Yay! Let the hunt begin! xD**

 **BraveSeeker3: BURN, KITTY, BURN! *disclaimer: no actual kitties were burned in the posting of this chapter* :3**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Well, last time ShadowClan had a huge power vacuum when Nightstar died too early and couldn't appoint a deputy before his death since his deputy also died. It was almost as if StarClan was asking Tigerclaw to take over ShadowClan. Not this time; Raggedstar made sure of that when he chased out Brokenstar and took away his nine lives. No, the real concern if DarkClan. (2) Yeah, poor Foxy. Unfortunately, Brightface wasn't given to Mousefur so she isn't ready to take over. Kinda a good thing, though; Mousefur would never give up the position to become a queen. She'd claw the pelt off anyone who would suggest such a thing.**

 **Sierra: Foxy was theme naming her kits there. Cobra and Brock are the oddballs so they have sorta oddballish names. She tried picking things the others wouldn't think of so her kits would be unique as heck. Unfortunately, now she has to explain what exactly she named them after. Did it work?**

* * *

Foxshadow padded to the center of the Sandy Hollow, muscles tense and ears twitching. She turned to face Swiftpaw as he skidded down the sandy slopes and joined her at the bottom. They sized each other up.

Foxshadow meowed. "You probably won't have another opportunity like this for another moon or two, Swiftpaw, so I suggest you start now."

The black and white apprentice jerked back in surprise, amber eyes wide, before he narrowed them and focused. A heartbeat later he pounced, aiming for her shoulders. Foxshadow crouched and twisted around to face. Swiftpaw moved quickly, landing a paw on her forehead and darting away behind her. It his claws had been unsheathed, her eyes would be blind by blood. She leaped backwards, onto Swiftpaw who had darted behind her. Before she had fully landed, he was thrashing. She had no purchase and quickly leaped away from Swiftpaw, fur bristling. They faced each other, a lithe, narrow-shouldered tom versus a big, broad-chested she-cat.

Swiftpaw darted forward, paws aimed towards her paws in the hopes of tripping her long legs. Foxshadow reared quickly and brought her weight down towards Swiftpaw, who darted around her. Foxshadow felt the tall-tale yank on her tail and twisted, landing a heavy blow to Swiftpaw's side. The tom watched her wearily, her bushy tail in his mouth. She glared at him and crashed onto her back, bringing her backpaws over her head to kick Swiftpaw in the stomach. The young tom gave a grunt as the air whooshed out of him and he landed on the ground, stunned. She twisted onto her forepaws and yanked her tail out of his mouth before he could recover, before darting forward to press her paws against his side, pinning him. She waited for his breathing to become regular.

"Well done!" she meowed, stepping back. "If you had your claws unsheathed, you would have defeated me the moment you made me blind."

Swiftpaw frowned in confusion. "But I didn't knock you down."

"No, you didn't," Foxshadow meowed, "but you used your head and your speed which is a great improvement over when I last fought you." She studied his dubious expression. "A battle isn't just about knocking someone down, Swiftpaw, it's about outsmarting them and you have done exactly that. I would never have expected you to blind me."

The apprentice slow rose to his paws, eyes growing wide as he processed what she was saying. "You mean," he meowed, "I can become a warrior?"

"If you think you're ready," meowed the dark brown and white she-cat, "then yes."

A cry of joy escaped Swiftpaw as he leaped in the air. "I did it!" He darted to Runningwind and rubbed his nose into the warrior's shoulder so hard Runningwind was forced to sit down or be knocked over. The young tom purred uproariously, his voice tinged with relief. "Thank you, Runningwind."

The deputy couldn't help but purr. "Runningwind, you should tell Bluestar the good news. Everyone will want to hear it after today."

The pale brown tabby nodded happily and began padding up the slope. "Quick, Swiftpaw, before you miss your own warrior ceremony!"

"You can't do that!" Swiftpaw meowed. "I _have_ to be there!"

Foxshadow watched them until they had disappeared over the slope. The purr in her throat faded as she rose to her paws and let her gaze sweep the Sandy Hollow. Dark clouds hung over the forest and she bushed her pelt against the icy wind. No amber eyes stared back at her from the dark undergrowth. She half-expected Tigerclaw to be there, waiting for her to be alone before pouncing on her. With a tiny sigh of relief, she bounded up the sandy slope and padded back towards camp. Hopefully, when Swiftpaw's ceremony was over, she'd have plenty of time to go out into the forest and pick up Tigerclaw's scent before the snow fell.

When she padded into camp, it was much livelier than ever before. Foxshadow was relieved that gloom had lifted long enough for Swiftpaw to have his moment. She searched for Dustpelt in the crowd and saw he was missing. She spotted Sandstorm and padded over.

"Dustpelt came back from patrol, right?" she asked.

"He's in the warrior den. He said he didn't feel well." Sandstorm twitched her whiskers. Beside her, Fireheart flicked an ear at Foxshadow, looking far less relaxed than Foxshadow expected.

"I'll check on him," meowed Foxshadow. "He shouldn't miss Swiftpaw's warrior ceremony."

She gave Fireheart a tiny nod as she padded towards the warrior den. A tiny white flake fell on her nose and licked it with her warm, rough tongue. She shifted nervously for a moment before entering the den.

It was mostly empty with everyone having cleared out, except for Dustpelt who was curled up in their shared nest.

"Dustpelt," she meowed, seeing his pelt twitch. "You're going to miss Swiftpaw's ceremony."

The dusky brown warrior flattened his ears and lifted his head. He looked miserable. Foxshadow didn't like it and immediately padded over to curl up next to him.

"Are your ears too cold?" she asked, touching her nose to her mate's flattened ears. They were warm but not burning. She touched his nose with her own. "Your nose isn't dry so I guess you aren't that kind of sick. What's bothering you?"

Dustpelt blinked at her. "How can you act like that?" He swallowed. "Aren't you mad at me?"

Foxshadow blinked at him, remembering not for the first time how young he was and how inexperienced. "Of course not," she meowed. "You weren't the only cat who was fooled by Tigerclaw."

"I never knew he was capable of such things," Dustpelt meowed. "I should have listened."

She snorted. "You're stubborn, Dustpelt, and loyal to the warrior code. That's why I like you." She leaned on him, purring. "You have my back, and I have yours. Whatever mistakes you make, I'm here to help you fix, and in turn you help me stay true to the warrior code. We're mates, Dustpelt, but we aren't clones of each other. Sometimes we can't explain our feelings very well to each other but that's okay. We are still learning so much about each other. Like me learning how noble you are..."

"...and me learning how smart you are," meowed Dustpelt, a quiet purr in his throat.

"How brave, fierce and determined you are," Foxshadow meowed, purring.

Dustpelt smiled. "How wise, intelligent and cunning you are."

"Never change, Dustpelt." Foxshadow licked his cheek, ignoring the taste of hair on her tongue. A thunderous purr filled her throat. "We have a ceremony to attend."

The dusky brown warrior nodded and rose to his paws, and she followed him out of the warrior's den and into the clearing. They intertwined their tails and watched quietly as Bluestar, perched on the Highrock, gestured for Swiftpaw to step forward.

"Swiftpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Swiftpaw meowed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Swiftpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Swiftwind. StarClan honors your determination and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

" _Swiftwind! Swiftwind!_ "

Foxshadow leaned into Dustpelt, purring as the chanting died down. "You want to congratulate our latest warrior?" she asked.

"No," he meowed. "It's warm here."

She gave a _mrrow_ of amusement. "It won't be in a few moments. The snow is falling."

"I know," he meowed, shoulders twitching. "I don't mind."

High above, the clouds broke and the first snowfall of the season began to flutter down to the ground far below.

* * *

 **A/N: Rising Storm begins next chapter with a new perspective! Cookies to anyone who guesses the right answer!  
**

 **Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoyed this shorty and don't forget to leave a review!**


	46. Rising Storm pt 1 (Allegiances)

**A/N: Since so many people have asked, I decided to make it official;** **Graystripe is gone for good... as good as he can get when in RiverClan. He will not be returning to ThunnderClan. Ever. He's got four babies and a mate, so why would he?  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: DUCK! *grabs a net* Nope, nope, and nope!  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: (1) It was a toss up between Swiftwind and Swiftrunner, but I thought the latter might be a bit too obscure. He's named after his mentor. *sniff* (2) Oi, keep Kyubey out of here. Where's grenade launcher when you need one?  
**

 **AnonChan1: Update spree? Not even close! I write one chapter every three days; well one day and two days break. (A) I'm so glad you loved that chapter! (B) You have not guessed the right one but you ARE on the right track.  
**

 **Sierra: There are six kittens total. Cobrakit, Brockkit, Swampkit, Marshkit, Forestkit, and Earthkit. Dustpelt named Cobrakit and Brockkit, though he wanted to call them "Snakekit" and "Badgerkit", and Foxshadow just made it more unique by naming them after a male badger, aka a brock, and a hooded snake, aka a cobra. As for the rest... SHH, spoilers!  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: I'm so glad you loved it! Have a great winter break!  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: Nope, nope, nope and nope.  
**

* * *

 **Rising Storm**

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **THUNDERCLAN  
Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes

 **Deputy  
** Foxshadow - long-haired dark brown she-cat with white throat, underbelly, paws and chin, bright red back and sun-gold eyes

 **Medicine Cat  
** Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Mistleleaf

 **Warriors  
** Brownfoot - silvered brown tabby tom with blue eyes, also known as Runningwind  
\- Apprentice, Beepaw  
Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
\- Apprentice, Fernpaw  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes, and green eyes  
Dustpelt - dusky dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Sandstorm - pale tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side and yellow eyes  
Ravenfeather - black tom with white chest spot, white tail-tip, white paws and amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Eaglepaw  
Fireheart - fiery red tabby tom with dark green eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Bramblepaw  
Swiftwind - black and white tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Ashpaw  
Brightface - mostly white she-cat with ginger patches and one black spot on her forehead  
\- Apprentice, Tawnypaw  
Brackenfur - pale brown tabby tom  
\- Apprentice, Sootpaw  
Cinderheart - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
Thornclaw - gray tabby tom  
\- Apprentice, Rainpaw

 **Apprentices  
** Mistleleaf - white she-cat with one blue eye and one green.  
Bramblepaw - golden-brown tabby tom with black stripes and long claws.  
Tawnypaw - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat.  
Beepaw - golden-brown tabby tom.  
Eaglepaw - golden brown tabby tom.  
Fernpaw - dark gray spotted tabby she-cat with green eyes.  
Ashpaw - light gray spotted tabby tom with blue eyes.  
Rainpaw - dark gray brindled tabby tom with blue eyes.  
Sootpaw - light gray tom spotted tabby tom with yellow eyes.

 **Queens  
** Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat with green eyes  
Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat with pale blue eyes

 **Kits  
** Willowpelt: Icekit (pale gray she-cat with pale green eyes), Snowkit (white tom with dark green eyes), Frostkit (white she-cat with pale green eyes), Darkkit (dark gray tabby tom with black stripes and yellow eyes), and Cloudkit (white tom with bright green eyes). 6 moons.  
Brindleface: Graykit (dark gray tom), Slatekit (gray she-cat), Falconkit (dark gray tabby she-cat), and Harrierkit (black tabby tom). 2 moons.

 **Elders  
** Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes

...

 **SHADOWCLAN  
Leader**  
Nightstar - frail, thin short-furred black tom.  
\- Apprentice, Cedarpaw

 **Deputy  
** Ratscar - scarred young dark brown tom  
\- Apprentice, Ravenpaw

 **Medicine Cat  
** Birdnose - small gray-and-white tom, also known as Runningnose  
\- Apprentice, Littlecloud

 **Warriors  
** Snowbird - young white she-cat  
Whitethroat - mostly black tom with white paws, underbelly, tail-tip and throat  
Wetfoot - spotted gray tabby tom  
\- Apprentice, Rookpaw  
Applefur - light brown she-cat with spotted tabby markings  
\- Apprentice, Magpiepaw  
Blackfur - black tom  
Lizardtail - dark brown black-spotted tabby tom  
Swanwing - white-and-black she-cat

 **Apprentice  
** Littlecloud - thin brown tabby tom  
Cedarpaw - dark brown tabby tom  
Magpiepaw - black tabby she-cat  
Ravenpaw - raven black she-cat  
Rookpaw - black tom

 **Queens  
** Tallpoppy - long-legged black tabby she-cat

 **Kits**  
Tallpoppy: Nightpkit, Scorchkit, Talonkit, and Smokekit. 3 moons

 **Elders  
** Cinderfur - old thin gray tom with spotted tabby markings  
Nutwhisker - brown tom with orange eyes.  
Dawncloud - small pale ginger tabby she-cat  
Newtspeck - brown-and-red tabby tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes  
Fernshade - dark gray-and-ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

...

 **RIVERCLAN  
Leader  
**Crookedstar - dark gray tabby tom with a crooked jaw

 **Deputy**  
Stonefur - blue-gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes

 **Medicine Cat  
** Mudfur - old long-haired light brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Primrosepaw

 **Warriors**  
Blackclaw - smokey black tom with green eyes  
Mistyfoot - blue-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes  
Whiteclaw - black tom with white legs and underbelly  
Bearpelt - dark brown tom with amber eyes, aka Loudbelly  
Heavystep - light brown tabby tom with green eyes  
Graystripe - silvered long-haired black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back  
Mosspelt - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat with white chest

 **Apprentices**  
Primrosepaw - blue-gray she-cat with black spots and yellow eyes  
Reedpaw - black tom with small ears and blue eyes.  
Pikepaw - dark gray tom with black spots and blue eyes.  
Perchpaw - black tom with green eyes.

 **Queens  
** Leopardfur - light golden-brown spotted tabby she-cat and dark amber eyes  
Silverstream - slender silvered black she-cat with blue eyes  
Shadepelt - smokey black she-cat

 **Kits  
** Leopardfur: Hawkkit (dark brown tabby tom with white toes and chest), Mothkit (solid golden she-cat), Toadkit (dark brown brindled tabby tom) and Frogkit (dark brown tabby she-cat). 2 moons old.  
Silverstream: Stormkit (silvered tom with dark gray tabby stripes), Featherkit (silvered she-cat with black stripes), Ripplekit (silvered black tabby tom with swirl stripes), and Swallowkit (silvered black tabby she-cat). 5 moons old.  
Shadepelt: Foxkit (smokey black she-cat with white paws and amber eyes), Dapplekit (dark gray spotted tabby and white she-cat), Mintkit (light gray spotted tabby and white tom), and Splotchkit (black-and-white tom), 2 moons old.  
Dawnbright: Dawnkit (cream-and-blue tortoiseshell) and Volekit (dark brown tabby tom). 5 moons old.

 **Elders**  
Mallowtail - red-and-black tortoiseshell tabby she-cat  
Skyheart - old brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes.

...

 **WINDCLAN  
Leader  
**Deadstar - lean black tom with broken forepaw

 **Deputy**  
Mudclaw - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Crowpaw

 **Medicine Cat  
** Barkface - darn brown tom with yellow eyes and short tail

 **Warriors**  
Tornear - gray tabby tom with yellow eyes  
Morningflower - brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
Onewhisker - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
\- Apprentice, Beechpaw  
Webfoot - wiry dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Runningpaw  
Tawnyfur - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes.  
Gorsefur - ginger-and-white tabby tom.  
Owlwhisker - cream tabby tom.

 **Apprentices**  
Crowpaw - dark gray tabby tom.  
Beechpaw - gray tabby tom  
Runningpaw - light gray tabby she-cat with a flat face, originally Graykit.

 **Queens  
** Ashfoot - gray she-cat with flat face and clear amber eyes, mate Deadfoot  
Whitetail - small white she-cat with amber eyes

 **Kits**  
Whitetail: Harekit, Leafkit, Weaselkit and Antkit. Half-moon.

 **Elders  
** Darkfoot - black tom with one white paw and green eyes  
Rushtail - cream tabby tom with amber eyes

...

 **DARKCLAN**  
 **Leader  
** Blackfoot - black tom with large white paws, formerly of ShadowClan, mate Russetfur

 **Deputy**  
Russetfur - dark ginger she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan, mate Blackfoot

 **Medicine Cat**  
Rosepaw - black-red-and-white tortoiseshell she-cat.

 **Warriors  
** Deerfoot - dark brown tabby tom with black spots and white throat and paws, formerly of ShadowClan  
\- Apprentice, Elmpaw  
Nightwhisper - brown tom with green eyes, formerly known as Mowgli  
\- Apprentice, Oakpaw  
Jaggedtooth - huge ginger tabby tom with amber eyes, formerly known as Snag  
\- Apprentice, Pinepaw  
Darktail - mostly white tom with black tail and spots around his dark amber eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Maplepaw  
Blackfrost - black-and-white tom with yellow eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Dandelionpaw  
Whitepelt - white she-cat with amber eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Orchidpaw  
Grayspots - light gray and white she-cat with amber eyes.  
\- Apprentice, Lilypaw

 **Apprentices**  
Elmpaw - dark brown tabby she-cat.  
Oakpaw - dark brown tabby tom.  
Pinekit - reddish-brown tabby tom.  
Maplekit - reddish-brown she-cat.  
Dandelionpaw - black-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat.  
Orchidpaw - gray tabby tom.  
Lilypaw - mostly white she-cat with red and black spots.

 **Queens**  
Sabletail - tawny she-cat with darker points and blue eyes, formerly known as Sasha. Mate Nightwhisper, formerly Blackfoot.  
Whiteflower - white and black she-cat with amber eyes, formally known as Lily. Mate Jaggedtooth.

 **Elders  
** Rowanberry - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan  
Stumpytail - brown tabby tom, formerly of ShadowClan  
Barley - short black-and-white tom.

* * *

"Wake up, Darkkit! It's our apprentice ceremony!"

The black tabby jerked awake at his name, blinking up at the white tom that was his brother. He let out a frustrated groan. "You woke me up for that?"

Snowkit blinked down at his brother in confusion. "It's our apprentice ceremony. Aren't you excited?"

The thought of experiencing his apprenticeship all over again did not fill Darkkit with much glee and he gave his brother a grumpy look. "Wake me when they actually start." He pawed at his nest and prepared to settle back down.

"But Bluestar is already up on the Highrock!" Snowkit meowed, confused.

"Oh, leave him alone, Snowkit," meowed a second white tom, his voice shrill and his fur so long and puffy he looked like a cloud. "Darkkit obviously doesn't want to be a warrior of ThunderClan. I'm sure he'd prefer to be a medicine cat, like your sister, Mistleleaf."

Darkkit bristled at the kit's words. "Of course I want to be a warrior," he meowed quietly, wondering why he was even trying to argue with _kits_. He rose to his paws, itching to swipe his claws through the ex-kittypet's fur. "I'm a true ThunderClan cat, unlike you."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Cloudkit meowed, glaring. "I'm a descendant of Pinestar and my mother is the current deputy of ThunderClan. _Your_ dad died when he tripped over some twoleg trash."

The reminder of his death made Darkkit hiss in fury, claws extended and he barely restrained himself from dealing damage. "She's not your real mother. Your mother was run over by a monster on the Thunderpath and your daddy was probably some nobody rogue."

Cloudkit's green eyes flashed angrily and he unsheathed his claws, snarling. The two toms circled each other, bristling.

With a sharp yelp, Snowkit abandoned them and raced to get Willowpelt. "Willowpelt! Cloudkit and Darkkit are fighting again!"

The pale gray tabby poked her head into the den, giving Cloudkit a warning look for snarling at her son's look-a-like and son. "Is this how a deputy's son behaves, Cloudkit?"

Darkkit felt satisfaction curl in his belly as the white tom backed down. His pale yellow eyes sought out the tiny nick in Cloudkit's white coat from when Darkkit had scratched him back when the white tom couldn't even speak. He consoled himself, reminding himself that Cloudkit would never have the same level of skill and ability that came with being a purebred ThunderClan cat who was reincarnated into his own son. Darkkit was superior in every way and, one day in the future, Cloudkit was going to know exactly that.

"Get out here!" meowed Willowpelt. "You're ceremony is about to start and you haven't been groomed yet!"

Cloudkit flattened his fur and raced out, looking up at Willowpelt with wide eyes. "Do you think they're going to make Foxshadow my mentor?"

"Parents aren't supposed to mentor their own kits," meowed Willowpelt. "Now, stand still!"

Darkkit set about grooming himself, hoping to avoid his grandmother from embarrassing him in front of the Clan. When he was satisfied all his fur was groomed slick, he padded out of the den to join Snowkit, Cloudkit and his two sisters.

The Clan was still gathering in the clearing as a partol returned and Bluestar was waiting patiently for them all to arrive before silencing them with a wave of her tail. "Today, only a half-moon after our last ceremony, we welcome five new apprentices into ThunderClan." She gestured with her tail for one of the kits to step forward. It was Icekit, Darkkit's sister.

Darkkit waited as she was apprenticed to Cinderheart and the Clan started to chant her name. Because the last ceremony had eight kits become apprentices, Foxshadow had told the Clan to do each name separately so that each apprentice could feel equally appreciated without one name being drowned out in all the others.

"Snowkit," meowed Bluestar, as Frostpaw padded away with her mentor, Mousefur, "you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Snowpaw. Your mentor will be Sandstorm."

Darkkit tuned the rest out, busying himself with keeping his fur slick. Beside him, Cloudkit shifted in excitement, his gaze sweeping the clearing and landing expectantly on Thornclaw. Darkkit snorted at the tom's hopefulness, reminding himself that most of the good mentors had already been given other apprentices. Darkkit shifted in excitement, eager to be called.

 _Cloudkit is probably last._

Snowpaw walked up to his new mentor, Sandstorm, and touched noses with her before they padded off together. Bluestar looked at the next kit and Darkkit realized with growing shock that their leader was ignoring him. He stared in growing horror as Bluestar spoke.

"Cloudkit, you have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cloudpaw. Your mentor will be Longtail."

Darkkit searched the crowd of cats in a sudden panic, before his eyes landed on Dustpelt and he relaxed. It would be strange to have his former apprentice become his mentor, but Dustpelt was a good warrior of ThunderClan. It would be an honor to have his as a mentor.

His gaze lazily scanned the cats and halted at a pair of sun-gold eyes. A sudden thrill of fear filled him as he stared into the eyes of ThunderClan's current deputy that glowed with some kind of inner power he could not accurately put into words. He quickly looked away, and his fear quickly melted away into a dark hatred. If not for his former apprentice, Darkkit would never have died and he'd probably have become deputy of ThunderClan instead. Instead, she had used it as an opportunity to kick out Tigerclaw and line up to become the next leader in his stead.

 _I should be standing there instead of her_ , he thought to himself.

"Darkkit," meowed Bluestar, startling the black tom out of his thoughts. He quickly padded up to the base of the Highrock. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Darkpaw. Your mentor will be Foxshadow."

Darkpaw's head snapped around and he stared with an open mouth at Foxshadow. In any other circumstance, it would have been an honor to be the apprentice to the deputy of ThunderClan. The massive, dark brown warrior stepped forward. The sun had turned her shoulders, sides and back into a carpet of fox-red fur, and her fur from her chin down her throat and across her underbelly was snow-white, giving her that foxlike appearance from the neck down. Speckles of white covered her fur from old wounds that had grown over with white fur, the largest on her shoulder. If Darkpaw didn't know better, the giant cat look almost like she was already in StarClan.

"Foxshadow, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You received excellent training from Darkstripe and Lionheart, and you have shown yourself to be noble and cunning. You will be the mentor of Darkpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Darkpaw."

Foxshadow dipped her head to touch noses and Darkpaw hesitated, fear crawling through his pelt. He forced his nose jerkily forward and barely touched Foxshadow's nose before retreated the Clan. The Clan erupted into noise, but he barely heard them. It was like he was alone in a dead silent forest and opposite him was a fox who looked hungry enough to eat him whole.

Snowpaw slammed into his shoulder, jarring him awake. Foxshadow had turned away and was padding towards Dustpelt, who was one of three warriors in ThunderClan without an apprentice. A flash of fury wracked his pelt and he took a moment to realize that Snowpaw was talking.

"-slayer!" Snowpaw meowed, bouncing on his paws. "I wish I could have been her apprentice." Snowpaw looked at him, a flicker of jealousy in his eyes. "I'm sure it would only take a moon before you become a warrior."

 _I wish you were her apprentice,_ thought Darkpaw before admonishing himself. He wanted to be a warrior as fast as he could and Foxshadow was the only cat in all ThunderClan who could make that happen. Ignoring the prickle of doubt, he fluffed out his fur and raised his tail with self-importance.

"Of course, she's my mentor," he meowed firmly. "She is the only choice for me."

Snowpaw flashed him a look. "I wish I could be so confident." He glanced at Sandstorm and lowered his voice. "I don't really know how good my mentor is going to be."

The black tabby snorted. "Sandstorm has practically trained every warrior in ThunderClan," he meowed, trying not to sound jealous. "She has a lot of experience with apprentices and is probably the best mentor in ThunderClan."

"You're probably right," Snowpaw meowed, eyes flashing in gratitude. "Thanks, Darkpaw."

The former warrior of ThunderClan looked away, not want to look his son - no, his brother - in the eye. "Whatever."

"Darkpaw."

The black tabby jumped and looked up at Foxshadow, fur bristling and claws unsheathed defensively.

"We are going to the Sandy Hollow for battle training," meowed Foxshadow, before padding away.

"Yes..." he meowed, trailing off as he realized she couldn't hear him anymore. He half-turned to Snowpaw. "See ya later."

"Tell me all the secret fighting moves she teaches you later, okay?" Snowpaw blinked hopefully at Darkpaw.

Darkpaw nodded. "Sure," he meowed, doubting it as he quickly padded after his new mentor.

He followed a fox-length behind her as she lead him out of the camp, up the ravine, and towards the Sandy Hollow. Despite his misgivings about his mentor, the thought of having a sparring match filled him with nostalgia. Sure, doing the routine practices was boring, both as an apprentice and a mentor, but the idea of fighting another apprentice made him eager to show off his skill. He remembered sparing with Mousefur, then Mousepaw, and sending her packing. It was always fun to train under Tigerclaw.

Ravenfeather just never had the stomach for it.

Sand sliding out from beneath his paws brought him back to the present and his gaze swept the shallow valley that served as the Sandy Hollow. His mentor had already sat down at the bottom, waiting for him to join her. He padded down the slope and sat in front of her, waiting expectantly for his training to begin.

"I know it's your first time out of the camp, Darkpaw," Foxshadow meowed, studying him. "It's not normal for an apprentice to be taken here right away. Do you know why?"

"They don't know the territory," meowed Darkpaw, realizing belatedly that Foxshadow was doing something that no mentor in their right mind would do. His face twisted in disgust at Foxshadow's obvious incompetence. "Is this what the greatest warrior of ThunderClan does to get her apprentices to become warriors early?"

Realizing whose presence he was in, he grew quiet, tensing as he watched Foxshadow.

"You're right," she meowed. "I didn't bring you here to train you. You've already been trained, Darkstripe."

Darkpaw felt a chill sweep through his fur. It took far too long for him to respond and, when he did, his voice squeaked. "W-what are you t-talking about?"

The massive she-cat rose to her full height, her fur bushing out and eyes narrowed in fury. "You hurt my son. If it had been anyone else in that nursery, I would have given them a free pass. After all, a kit doesn't know better." Her eyes narrowed. "But you were born with yellow eyes, Darkpaw, and I saw the hatred in them every time you looked at me. No newborn knows hatred as great as yours and the only cats with any reason to hate me so much is either dead, in RiverClan, or running around the forest causing nightly mischief in a pathetic attempt at revenge."

Darkpaw had never felt so much fear in his entire life. He was suddenly very aware of how out of the way the Sandy Hollow was and how far away from any of the patrol he was. He cowed, licking his dry lips. "What are you going to do?"

"Do?" she asked, glancing around curiously. "Nothing. In fact, you're going to be on apprentice duties for your entire apprenticeship and I'm not going to teach you a thing."

"What?" squeaked Darkpaw. "But that's..." He stopped, swallowing.

"Not fair?" she meowed. "Not fair, Darkstripe, is you being reincarnated when there are many other cats who deserve it more than you do. Not fair is me having to sit here and train my own mentor who never even tried to train me. Tigerclaw and Lionheart put more effort in my training than you ever did and if it wasn't for either of them, I wouldn't be here." She paused. "That is all."

Darkpaw was incredulous. "That's all?"

"Yes, that's all," she meowed, standing up. "And if I catch you complaining about your chores or disobeying my orders, I won't hesitate to give you some real battle training." She unsheathed her claws meaningfully and feinted at the air in front of her. "Now, head back to camp. You know the way."

Darkpaw didn't have to be told twice. He whipped around and hared back towards camp. He barely knew where he was going until he was already in the bramble tunnel that entered into camp. He halted, realizing belatedly that all the cats in camp probably saw him dart down the ravine like a rabid rabbit. He sucked in a breathe to calm himself and washed himself quickly, before rising onto his shaking paws and padding into the camp.

There was almost no one in camp. A part of him relaxed at that, and he padded into the apprentice's den where it was private. It was empty. He found his old nest, unused, and sank onto it with a sigh of relief.

Some day, he promised himself, he was going to put an end to Foxshadow and that little white puffball, too.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright, here's the review for The Last Jedi: If anyone says that the 3/4 of the movie was slow or if there wasn't enough fights scenes in the whole movie, then they didn't actually watch The Last Jedi. They are morons. Now, go watch the movie. Go. Encourage everyone to watch it. It's _good_.  
**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Tell me how your Christmas went - was it good, bad or ugly?**


	47. Rising Storm pt 2

**A/N: Wooo, this chapter was finished Wednesday but I didn't want to post so soon after the last chapter so... here it is!  
**

 **Sierra: Adder and Snake are practically the same thing but they are both used in canon, so Marsh and Swamp are fine. Besides, Meadowkit is in the second litter. :) (Guest:) Snowpaw is currently his only friend, so you bet he cares about him - though he won't admit it... yet. :)  
**

 **Imprisoned Wings: Whatchu talkin' about? Nutwhisker made a literal appearance in Chapter 14: Fire & Ice pt 2. He is named in the first paragraph. He's a sweet old grandpapa and kinda fun to be around, too.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: (1) Don't brush such signs off! They are important! (2) Wow, those are expensive toys. We barely buy each other things that are over 20 bucks. Most of the time we are doing "Secret Santa" or "Evil Santa" or some other stupid game which I hate.  
**

 **AnonChan1: (2) NO ONE expected him. I'm kinda amazed. I thought all the clues were obvious. Welp, goes to show you how wrong I was. (A) Very good question. Good thing I have an answer. Just, you know, forgot to add that in my outline. Ahem. *Scribble scribble* (B) To be revealed? (C) Nope. She is always going to be a kittypet in his mind, even if she really was just a loner. (D) Yes, they are. Though, to be fair, I need to be more careful. (E) Oh no, I've become predictable... maybe. (F) Um, it does beg the question of who decided Darkpaw was going to be Foxy's apprentice... Bluestar or Foxy? (G) Hm. I honestly don't know if she does care at this point. Sure, if it had happened when she was still a loner, she would have had something to say about it because the last foxes she ran into were basically just kits. Since the fox she killed was an adult dog-fox, she might not mind so much? I'd have to actually write out a scene where she hears the title herself to know for sure. I might have already and just don't remember. Hm. (H) Hee-hee. (I) ...I am getting _way_ too predictable for you guys. Oh well, might as well end on a high note... even if... well, you'll see. (J) Christmas is only a time of cheer when I'm at my father's mom's house. My mother's mom's house... not so much. She's manipulative, you see, and tends to be very controlling. I also don't like how she treats her own daughter (my mother) as if she's still 12. Mostly because it's her fault my mother sometimes acts like _I'm_ 12\. Everyone seemed to like my mom's gifts, though, so my mother was happy and that makes me happy, too. Don't tell her I said that.  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I have the grenade launcher ready. (Btw, you should totally get that cat a red collar. You know, because of the red circles on Kyubey. Also, I'm told the sub is better because of the way Homura calls Kyubey "Incubator". So much hate!)**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of AirClan: Ah, the million dollar question. I'm so glad you asked. Unfortunately, this chapter only briefly discusses a possible answer. Also, glad to hear your Christmas went well!**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: Yup! Yup! Yup!**

* * *

It was nice to have her theory finally confirmed after moons of watching the dark tabby tom.

Foxshadow watched her apprentice pad in front of the elder's den, carrying a bunch of moss with a familiar disgusted expression. Patchpelt, at least, took his disgust in stride. The black and white tom was only nine years old, with only arthritis in his hips forcing him to retire to elder's den. He preferred to stay out during night vigils with one of the queens. The deputy couldn't help but wonder if Brindleface's kits were his or someone else's. Her gaze drifted back to her apprentice, and she watched him climb up next to the elder on the apprentice's stump and press the moss onto his back.

 _The tom thinks too highly of himself_ , she reasoned. _It would do him good to do menial labor for the next five moons. Might teach him some humility.  
_

She looked away, tail-tip twitching. The fox-colored she-cat watched the Clan from the shade of the Highrock and from exactly where Tigerclaw used to sit every morning. She could better appreciate why the tom perched there during his time as deputy, since it gave her a view of the whole camp and kept her cool from the sunlight.

 _Just another sign that I've become just like him_ , a small voice in her head growled. _Now all you need to do is kill him._

She had fully intended to kill him, but when Swiftwind's ceremony had finished and all the patrols for that day and the next had been organized, she found out that tracking the deputy was harder than it looked. His scent trail hadn't led to ShadowClan's border, like she had expected, but gone straight up to the RiverClan border and disappeared into the river. Foxshadow had stared across the foamy, cold waves covered in shards of ice and watched the other side of the border until a RiverClan patrol had found her. After telling them about Tigerclaw, she had left them and returned to camp, feeling frustrated. The dark warrior was still out there, either searching for revenge, power or some combination of the two. With him outside of the Clan, her sights naturally turned elsewhere, towards cats far closer to home.

Foxshadow pondered how Darkpaw could have reincarnated. Reincarnation had never been really explained in the books, but it had happened once to Cinderpelt - er, Cinderheart now. At the time, Cinderheart hadn't remembered her past life. Lionblaze, Jayfeather and Dovewing were pretty much the same.

Since when could a reincarnated cat remember their past life?

 _Could I have dreamed him back to life?_ she wondered. _Or wished him back? Is that why he remembers?_

 _Does it matter?_

"Foxshadow," meowed Brackenfur, "can I have a word with you?"

The fox-colored she-cat blinked. "What is it? Have you scented Tigerclaw on our borders?"

"No," meowed Brackenfur, with an ear twitch. "I wanted to talk about Darkpaw."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

"He's been doing apprentice duties for a quarter moon." Her former apprentice hesitated. "Is he being punished for something?"

Foxshadow twitched her whiskers. "Yes."

"I see," meowed Brackenfur. "Why?"

"For harming a fellow apprentice and fighting for no reason," meowed Foxshadow calmly. "Has he been complaining?"

"No, I was just... noticing things."

Foxshadow nodded. "You're very observant. That is good qualities in a deputy."

As if remembering something, Brackenfur dipped his head respectfully. "Thank you, Foxshadow." He blinked. "You know, in all the time I knew you, I never thought you would be deputy of ThunderClan."

"Neither did I," the she-cat responded. "But there was no one else available at the time so it had to be me."

Brackenfur nodded and suddenly realized something. "You're waiting for someone to be available?"

Foxshadow purred. "You really are sharp. Once all the apprentices are trained, I have a few ideas in mind."

"So, you're planning to have kits," he meowed, a purr in his throat. "I can't wait."

Foxshadow purred. "Brackenfur, why don't you take Goldenflower's kits out for a hunting patrol down by Lion's Trap? If the rabbits haven't returned by now, then just take them to Treecutplace. We've been neglecting that territory."

"What about Sunningrocks?" meowed Brackenfur. "Are we going to take that back from RiverClan?"

Frowning at the reminder of what Foxshadow had fought with Bluestar to give up, she straightened and gave Brackenfur a stern look and stiffened. "Treecutplace didn't belong to ThunderClan, once. Are we so desperate for land that we would require something so prey poor by our own standards?"

Brackenfur blinked. "I didn't realize Sunningrocks was prey poor..."

"It is a luxury that ThunderClan doesn't need," she meowed firmly, mildly irritated that Bluestar hadn't told the Clan the reason behind her decision before handing that piece of land over at the Gathering two moons before. "You should support your deputy and leader about their decisions, Brackenfur, even when you don't know why they were made."

The moment she said it she wished she could take it back.

The pale brown warrior nodded. "You're right, of course."

Now irritated, she bristled. "No, actually, I'm wrong. It is that kind of thinking that brought Brokenstar into power in the first place. I should encourage questions towards our decisions instead of leaving the whole Clan in the dark." She fluffed out her fur. "The Clan has a right to know, and I'm going to make it your job to tell them."

Brackenfur blinked in surprise and dipped his head in understanding. "Yes, sir."

As her former apprentice padded away, Foxshadow turned her gaze to Darkpaw once more. Tawnypaw and Ashpaw had joined Darkpaw and brought him a piece of prey, while Snowpaw and Fernpaw chowed down on a squirrel together, talking amicably about something Foxshadow couldn't hear.

There were so many apprentices in ThunderClan and this worried Foxshadow. She remembered Needletail's rebellion before she had left the world of twolegs and entered this one, and knew that one of the reasons the Erins gave as to it was that there were too many apprentices in ShadowClan. It was ridiculous, of course; ShadowClan's real reason for it's failure was a lack of _being a family_. ThunderClan was less likely to have such problems. The friendliness between cats here encouraged them to have a loyalty to it, just to have another day of warmth.

No, what worried Foxshadow was natural selection. ThunderClan could not support so many cats on such a small piece of land, not without rabbits. The next leaf-bare promised to bring a lot of death if they didn't find more prey somewhere.

In a few years, they would need a larger piece of land.

Disturbed, Foxshadow rose to her paws and padded towards the freshkill pile.

"I didn't do anything," meowed Darkpaw in a low voice, "but I'm being punished."

Foxshadow's ear swiveled toward Darkpaw's conversation, but she pretended ignorance as she stood and padded with her squirrel to the queen's den. She could still hear Darkpaw's conversation, though it was muffled slightly by all the other noise in the camp.

"But she must have a reason," Tawnypaw meowed, not very quietly. "She's our deputy for a reason."

"She's our deputy because she threw out our former deputy and was the only available cat at the time." Darkpaw practically growled. "Mousefur should have become deputy, but she was never given an apprentice. Our gracious leader was too preoccupied with giving our younger warriors an apprentice that she forgot about her oldest warrior."

Foxshadow clawed the ground. Not only was he complaining but he was speaking treason. After she finished her meal and let him talk for a while, she rose to her paws and padded over to them.

"Darkpaw, I think it is time I taught you how to hunt properly," she meowed, "unless you would prefer to continue talking treason and lies to your fellow apprentices?"

Caught, the black tabby flinched away from her but slowly rose to his paws. He seemed to have a good idea of what was coming.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he meowed. "In the medicine cat's den, maybe."

Foxshadow's whiskers curled in displeasure, but she forced her voice to be light. "You _will_ end up in the medicine cat's den with that attitude, Darkpaw. You weren't that bad at our previous practice."

Darkpaw's eyes widened in surprise and Foxshadow couldn't help the curl of satisfaction in her belly. She gestured for Darkpaw to follow and padded out of the camp, walking purposefully to the only place in all of ThunderClan territory that no other cat would be.

"Where are we going?" meowed Darkpaw, his fear-scent sickly sweet on her tongue. "I have the right to know."

"You already know," meowed Foxshadow. "I did warn you, Darkpaw."

"But we aren't going towards the Sandy Hollow," he meowed, baffled. "That is in the other direction."

"I know."

Foxshadow padded into a clearing at the center of which was another pile of rocks. The jagged tower was pathetic compared to Sunningrocks, with the barest hint of carvings on it's broken pieces. She turned to face Darkpaw and saw his face contort into pure terror.

"You should remember, Darkpaw," she meowed. "Accidents happen often but second chances don't."

The black tom's fear-scent was so great it was like trying to breathe in the stench of the medicine cat den. Foxshadow tensed, and Darkpaw bolted. Before he managed a tail length, Foxshadow had landed on his shoulders, pinning him under her massive weight.

"You want to be trained, so we are going to train." She sank her claws into his fur. "It would be a shame if you had to live through kittenhood all over again, if you didn't go straight to the Dark Forest. If you even think about running, I will bring you here tomorrow if you aren't already dead by then."

Darkpaw shook in terror. She waited for his fear-scent to die down before releasing him and taking a step back.

"Of course, this won't be necessary if you would just not complain or disobey me. I told you not to complain to anyone."

She paused, watching the apprentice slowly climb to his paws, his legs shaking.

"Now, show me your best mouse hunting technique," she meowed. "We will stay here until the sunsets. So, you should try your best to impress me before then and I might let you go back to camp early. But remember, the longer it takes us to get back, the more likely one of the snakes around here are going to find us tasty to eat."

* * *

 **A/N: I wonder if you can guess where they are right now. It should be pretty obvious, or at least I hope it's obvious.  
**

 **How you all enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	48. Rising Storm pt 3

**A/N: So, everyone seems to think Foxshadow's punishment for Darkpaw is justified. I'm curious what you all will think about after this chapter...**

 **AnonChan1: I'll have to be sure to make it more obvious next time. Like mention it once every chapter or something like that. (i) Yeah. (ii) Brackenfur supports Foxshadow on a lot of things, some of which he really shouldn't. Well, shouldn't in my opinion but I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to cover all of that stuff. (iii) Hm. We shall see how far he still has to go by the end of Rising Storm. (iv) Snakerocks is correct!**

 **BraveSeeker3: I don't even know what that is! I'm sure it's better than a fidget spinner or a blanket. *flails* But enough about my horrible Christmas parties... What is a repainted Schleich?**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: I have seen the sub and I'm not very good at identifying voices/tones. I'm kinda half-deaf, so yeah. I have! Wait, you do mean the animated movies, right? The first two were just rehashes of the whole series but the third was a spectacle... though the third one kinda botched the moral of the first two, methinks, and completely destroyed Homura's character development. It's a great light show, though.**

 **Imprisoned Wings: I'm glad I could get you excited about my story! I hope it lives up to your expectation!  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: That's good! I was worried no one would guess right but it seems not! Hope you like this chapter and Darkpaw being scared to death by Foxy!  
**

 **MagiMon: (Ch11) I know I told myself that I wasn't going to answer reviews to older chapters but this one is just so good despite being so short. I'm so glad to finally have the opinion of someone who doesn't like her character AND who can teach me a new word. Thank. You. So. Much! You're review made me realize that my SI characters all have similar traits.**

* * *

Darkness had settled over the whole forest. The hiss of snakes in their holes and the gleam of their eyes as they emerged into the night made Darkpaw shake on his paws, but he forced himself to focus on his rabbit hunting crouch.

The piercing golden eyes of his mentor watched him every step he took as he quickly moved through the stances and motions. He forced himself to move naturally, ears ringing with Foxshadow's previous warning.

" _Perform them perfectly, Darkstripe, or else we aren't going anywhere. That means you must move at the proper speed, the proper pace and the proper stances without messing it up one bit._ "

A tremor of terror passed through his fur as he felt a snake brush passed his leg, but he clamped his mouth shut to prevent a yowl of terror. Darkpaw didn't want Foxshadow to have the satisfaction of seeing him at his worst.

"That is enough for today," meowed Foxshadow, at last rising to her paws. "Head back to camp and get some rest. You're chores start tomorrow."

Darkpaw almost collapsed with relief, except he wasn't so sure he wouldn't be collapsing on a currently docile snake or adder. Muscles trembling with over exertion, he padded carefully over the bodies of writhing snakes and towards the safety of the nearest tree, where he scrambled up and out of the way onto the lowest branch. He looked back towards Foxshadow, curious as to how the she-cat was going to escape the mass of hissing snakes.

With a quick flick of her paws, Foxshadow had snapped up the nearest snake into her mouth and bit it. As it writhed, she dropped it and watched patiently as an adder, unhappy at being touched by the dying snake, bit it and pulled back, mouth open wide. Foxshadow snagged the adder with her claws and bit its neck, before dropping it on the pile of snakes. They reacted in a similar manner the adder had, striking and biting the dying snake in irritation. Sensing that something was wrong, some of the snakes started to retreat back into their dens.

From her safety on a rock, Foxshadow studied them carefully before selecting the largest snake and hooking it into her mouth, biting it's neck. Darkpaw half-expected her to drop this one too, but instead the dark brown and white she-cat stood up and carried the snake with her out of snakerocks. It's body writhed in her mouth and she stopped to chew on its neck, waiting patiently for the long slithery thing to stop twitching.

 _It's almost like she's preparing to bring it back as freshkill for the Clan,_ Darkpaw thought with a shudder of disgust. ShadowClan often boasted of eating snakes and RiverClan had often boasted their paws were as fast as a snake's strike, but no ThunderClan cat had ever given it a try. Just killing a snake in ThunderClan was considered to be on par with killing dogs, but Foxshadow had done it without even a second thought. WIth a shudder, he realized that Foxshadow's paw strikes were as fast as an adder's, just like a RiverClan cat's.

" _I'm not going to teach you a thing._ " Her voice echoed in his mind.

For the first time since being made her apprentice, he wondered about all the things she _could_ teach him. He immediately realized how stupid it was to think about it; Tigerclaw had taught him most everything he had known and he was a better warrior than Foxshadow could ever hope to be. _Darkstripe_ was a better warrior than Foxshadow could hope to be.

 _But Tigerclaw never killed a fox before_. _Tigerclaw never killed a snake before, either. Or returned to camp with enough rabbits to feed the Clan for days._

Irritated at his own treasonous thoughts, Darkpaw mentally snapped at himself. _Because Tigerclaw wouldn't waste his time showing off to the Clan._

Even in his head, that didn't sound right. Angry and frustrated, he clawed down the tree and ripped as much bark off along the way as he could just because, before bolting back to camp. When he scrambled through the bramble tunnel, he was not surprised to find Foxshadow already there but _was_ surprised to see her casually eating the snake. His belly churned in disgust, and he rushed to the apprentice's den. All the other apprentices were already sleeping so he settled down into his nest.

* * *

When Darkpaw woke, it was to the noise of his fellow apprentices. He felt like he hadn't slept at all the night before and blinked open his eyes blearily. The sounds of snakes hissing in the shadows made his fur stand on end, until he realized he was safe in the apprentice's den.

"The Gathering is going to be here soon!" meowed Cloudpaw, clawing the ground. "We have to be close to being made warriors!"

Darkpaw snorted at the thought. The thought of Cloudpaw being a warrior was as funny as the thought of Fireheart being leader of ThunderClan. It was never going to happen.

 _I'll_ _make sure of that_ , he vowed, suddenly uncertain, _somehow._

"It takes time," meowed Bramblepaw, obviously struggling to explain to the white tom. "You have barely learned the basic hunting crouches and you still have to learn all of the fighting moves."

"Foxshadow never spent so much time on this stuff," meowed Cloudpaw with a sniff.

"Foxshadow learned most of it from her parents before joining ThunderClan," Bramblepaw pointed out. "She came from SkyClan, remember? She was much older than any of us and there's only so many ways you can learn to catch a mouse."

Darkpaw's ear twitched. _SkyClan doesn't exist_ , he thought to himself in disgust. _She made it up to become a warrior faster._

 _Then where did she learn to kill a snake or a fox?_ a voice asked him.

Darkpaw sneered as he rose to his paws and began licking his fur flat on his spine. This attracted the attention of the two toms.

"Hey, Darkpaw, I didn't seen you in camp yesterday. I thought Foxshadow wasn't training you," meowed Cloudpaw, half-teasing and half-jealous. "I guess that means you'll be a warrior by the end of the moon."

 _You wish_ , Darkpaw thought, but the thought of Cloudpaw being jealous of him brought him some satisfaction. He raised his head and stared down his nose at the white tom. "Are you jealousy that your mother thinks I'm a better future warrior than you?"

The anger and hurt that flashed across Cloudpaw's face made Darkpaw smile. Cloudpaw was a loud idiot; Darkpaw couldn't understand how any of the other cats could stand him. The fluffy white tom was too proud to run to his mother for protection, and it felt good to hurt someone Foxshadow cared so much about. He turned away to keep grooming himself, but Cloudpaw was finished yet.

"I don't know why you complain so much about the chores. I had to take over when you went training today and it was easy."

Darkpaw tried to ignore him, but Cloudpaw's voice was just _too_ irritating. "If it's so easy, why don't you just take over the apprentice chores?" His eyes narrowed cunningly. "I'm sure Foxshadow would be proud to know that her son is working to feed the queens and elders."

"You think so?" Snowpaw pipped up, looking hopefully at Darkpaw.

The black tabby glanced at his brother and wished that his son wasn't a gullible idiot. But it was too late to take back his words so he decided to just go with it. "Of course," he meowed, keeping his voice level. "Foxshadow will congratulate you for taking the initiative."

Bramblepaw looked unconvinced. "Apprentice chores are only given to cats who are being punished," he pointed out. "Why would any cat think that doing them would be a good thing?"

Darkpaw rose to his paws, excitement pounding in his heart. "Are you doubting me?" he challenged, glaring at Bramblepaw. "Who would know my mentor better than me?"

The dark brown tabby looked away, fur ruffled. "It just doesn't make any sense to me."

"My mom loves kits and queens. She'd love it if we helped them!" meowed Cloudpaw, excitement flashing in his eyes. "We should all start tomorrow!"

Darkpaw watched them quietly, struggling not to laugh. Did any of these cats know that it was _normal_ for all apprentices to share the apprentice chores? From the look Bramblepaw was giving him, Darkpaw knew that at least one of them knew, but Snowpaw and Cloudpaw looked intrigued and so did Frostpaw and Icepaw. Darkpaw suddenly realized that _all_ his kits were about to be duped into doing extra chores. He resisted a sneer and looked away from them, annoyed.

"We can start tomorrow!" meowed Snowpaw. "I can take care of the elders tomorrow morning!"

"Not before me!" meowed Cloudpaw.

"We can do it together!" meowed Snowpaw. "I want to be there when he tells us how Thistleclaw became a warrior."

"I'll take care of the queens!" meowed Icepaw, eyes flashing with excitement. "I want to visit Brindleface's kits!"

"You saw Brindleface's kits yesterday," Frostpaw meowed, rolling her eyes. "It's my turn!"

Icepaw stiffened, lips twisting in a stubborn line. "I called it first!"

With all his chores now in the paws of others, Darkpaw curled up to sleep again, but a paw stopped him. Irritated, he blinked up at Tawnypaw.

Tigerclaw's daughter gave the others a glance and meowed. "Wanna join us now that you've got time?" she asked.

Darkpaw blinked and rose to his paws. "Sure, Tawnypaw," he meowed, his voice suddenly silky smooth. "Will Ashpaw be joining us?"

Tawnypaw shrugged. "Maybe afterwards."

The dark tabby followed the brown-and-cream tortoiseshell out of the den. The sun was still crawling up towards sunhigh, bathing the camp in a golden light. Darkpaw shuddered, reminded of Foxshadow's glowing gold eyes from the previous night. He glanced around absently and noted that she was not in camp.

 _She's probably on the dawn patrol_ , he thought, relieved. He ignored the voice that told him she would not be out so early after being out so late, but he ignored it.

When Tawnypaw began padding towards the freshkill pile, Darkpaw's eyes widened at the sight of it being piled high with rabbits. His head spun as he remembered a day, long ago, when Foxshadow was but a loner and walked into camp with a similar pile of dead rabbits. It was how she was finally made an member of ThunderClan and eventually his apprentice. He dug his claws into the ground in fury.

 _Foxshadow must have stolen those rabbits from WindClan!_ he thought.

Tawnypaw came back to him with a young rabbit and dropped it at his paws. "Since you aren't in the medicine cat den," meowed Tawnypaw, "I'm guessing training went well?"

Darkpaw paused, suddenly uneasy as he looked around. When he failed to spot the dark brown, ginger and white deputy, Darkpaw shook his head at Tawnypaw. "Foxshadow took me to Snakerocks to train," he meowed quietly with a shudder. "She made me do all the hunting crouches perfectly before I was allowed to leave."

The pale tortoiseshell she-cat stared at him, as if trying to figure out whether or not he was serious. "That's horrible!" meowed Tawnypaw, glancing around. "Why would she do that?"

Darkpaw gave an uneasy shrug and bit into the rabbit, not wanting to explain to Tawnypaw how Foxshadow had overheard him complaining after she had told him not to complain. "These rabbits," he meowed, "look like WindClan rabbits."

Tawnpaw stared at him for a long moment in confusion before deciding to follow along. "I don't know, but they don't smell like it. They taste like dust and pine needles."

"Who hunted these?" Darkpaw asked, hoping the older she-cat would have an answer.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. If we hunted on WindClan territory, we'll be hearing it at the Gathering." She paused. "Do you think Bluestar will let you go?"

"If Foxshadow has anything to say about it," Darkpaw groused, "I doubt I'll be seeing the outside of the camp for the next three moons."

Tawnypaw nodded glumly. "I wish we could hunt together," she meowed, "everyone else just seems to treat me like another Tigerclaw."

"Tigerclaw wasn't that bad," meowed Darkpaw, defensive of his mentor, before realizing he shouldn't know that and added, "most likely. He was the deputy of the Clan for a reason and he was considered one of our best warriors long before that."

The she-cat nodded to herself. "He probably was really intelligent for thinking up all that stuff."

Darkpaw nodded, relieved. He didn't want Tawnypaw to think badly of her father, especially since Darkpaw had looked up to the tom his whole life. "Darkstripe was his best friend," he meowed confidently. "My dad saw greatness in him and so do I."

"How do you know so much about your dad?" asked Tawnypaw, tilting her head in confusion.

The black tabby froze, mind suddenly racing to come up with an explanation. "Well, I just, uh, do."

Tawnypaw blinked. "I wish I had such a deep connection with my dad."

Darkpaw relaxed, relieved that Tawnypaw wasn't going to pry further. He turned his attention to ripping rabbit carcass apart, his ordeal at snakerocks forgotten.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **I've been sick for the last two days so I'm probably not going to have a chapter posted tomorrow. Sorry, guys.**


	49. Rising Storm pt 4

**A/N: Oh, look, I'm feeling better. And look; I actually proofread the chapter this time! I was honestly expecting my writing to be terrible, which is why I'm usually too lazy/afriad to proofread, but WOW was I surprised. I'm not C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien levels of good but I'm not the terrible amateur I thought I was. I have an extremely low opinion of myself. I wonder what problems I _still_ need to work on... I'm hoping that the streamline storyline I'm using for Rising Storm can help me to identify and solve some of the problems my stories keep having.  
**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Oh, jeez, it's about to get a new level of low for him. Figuratively and literally. (2) That is explained a bit more in this chapter, actually. (3) Darkpaw is a very difficult character/person to deal with. I wrote out a very accurate description of him at the end of this chapter. (4) Ah, I'm loving the hate for Darkpaw. I wonder how far I can go before everyone starts thinking the damage done to him is no longer deserved? Hm. Suppose it depends on how much I develop his character towards being redeemed. (5) None of that has anything to do with his loyalty to Tigerclaw. It has everything to do with the image he has of himself, Tigerclaw, his past life, and what he thinks he deserves because of all that. (6) No, I don't think it is discussed in canon. I'm kinda interpreting it my own way. Tbh, he's a lot like me when I was a 7 year old brat. Mostly the same line of thinking, too. Boy, was I a *she-wolf*, though to be fair I had a really good reason for it... which would be _too depressing_ and M-rated to get into during this story. I honestly should stop telling people that story because I'm starting to think that I only do it to basically say, "You think you're life sucked, wait until you hear what happened to me when I was 6-7 years old _._ " :/  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: I've barely seen a few episodes of that, but I thought it was really good.  
**

 **Stormfrost: Thank you so much! I try my best!  
**

 **Cardgames on Pokemon: (1) Good! They are _all_ a waste of time, though the voice acting was a little better. (2) That is... disturbing.  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: (1) Thank you! I'm feeling much better since yesterday thanks to a bit of rum. Strange how it can help clear the sinuses. (2) Good! Hate him. He deserves the hate. He might not later, but right now he totally does. (3) Of course he does! She's the only she-cat his age that _isn't related to him._ Most everyone else his age is a tom. (4) Yay! Foxy isn't the only who feels that way! (5) Idk. That happened in the heat of summer in canon and I haven't currently got a place in my stories where it could do some real drama. Maybe in another story. Like Forestfire's Faith. :)  
**

 **SnowfallD: (1) Ooo, you must be a fast reader. That's impressive. (2) Yup! Thank you! (3) I'm torn between saying "Go to bed" and "I'm so glad you're interested in my stories". Why do I want to mother people whenever I go online? *flails* (4) Thank you! You, too! (5) SOMEONE FINALLY POINTED IT OUT! Also, I think Darkpaw won that round. :(  
**

 **EVA-Saiyajin: (Ch41) I'm so confused as to why you read this chapter first but okay! (Ch5) Not sure if you're going to make it this far, but I hope you enjoy my story! And yes, Foxy does have a very bad memory. Blame her human side.**

* * *

Foxshadow had never thought anything could taste like chicken until she tried snake meat. It made no sense; snakes and chicken had very different diets and ways of life. Chicken had soft unused muscles that weren't tough or stringy and snakes were all hard muscles and tendons. No two animals could have been anymore different, but snake meat reminded her of chicken more than an actual bird did.

It was disheartening that she couldn't trust her taste buds anymore.

Instead of going straight home after the sunhigh patrol, she sent the patrol ahead of her and stopped at Snakerocks to grab another large grass snake. She had to be careful and not catch an adder; she had no idea whether or not it's poisonous venom could be ingested or not. Her claws were fast from catching minnows for the last two moons, faster than the slow minded snakes could react towards. She quickly stuck the neck of a writhing grass snake in her mouth and dragged it's wriggling form back with her to camp.

It really didn't make any sense that the dogs would take over snakerocks in the series either. After the first dog died from an adder bite, they would be quick to move on to another place they could call home. Or perhaps she was giving them too much credit?

The snake had finally stopped wriggling and she paused to fix her grip around it's neck. If she could convince the ThunderClan cats that they could hunt and make a meal out of the snakes, it could give them a different source of food if the rabbits ever disappeared. Even if they refused, Yellowfang would probably appreciate a bite of snake. In fact, consider that ShadowClan loved snakes, it made no sense to Foxshadow that they wouldn't try to claim Snakerocks as their own territory. They had a tunnel under the Thunderpath that kept them safe from monsters and their stealth skills could let them sneak onto ThunderClan territory without worry about being spotted until it was too late.

 _Although, if they need to retreat, they would have to go over the Thunderpath instead of under it..._

When Foxshadow entered ThunderClan camp, she was not amused to find Darkpaw sleeping on the apprentice's stump. Instead of dealing with the apprentice right away, she walked to the medicine cat den and sat down outside. Dropping her prey, she yowled.

"Yellowfang? Are you there?"

A raspy growl answered and Yellowfang padded out. She gave the snake a glance. "What do you want, Foxshadow?"

"I heard that ShadowClan cats ate snakes," began Foxshadow. "I had one last night and thought it tasted good so I was hoping you might want to share this one with me."

The old she-cat blinked at the deputy before rising slowly to her paws and padding over to the snake to paw at it. "Grassnake," she meowed. "Not my favorite."

"Do you prefer frog or rat?" Foxshadow asked curiously. "I've never seen either of them on our territory. If you preferred fish, I could bring back a minnow from the stream."

"I thought your pelt was looking more like a RiverClan cat's," Yellowfang mused. "Enjoying your fish?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "I remember an old fashion remedy for reddening fur and thought some fish might help turn it back into it's normal color, but it seems that it's the suns fault instead of a diet problem." The dark brown and white she-cat looked at Yellowfang. "Not interested in the snake?"

Yellowfang studied the snake and pawed at it a moment longer in thought before finally sinking her teeth into it's neck. She let go almost immediately. "Too hard."

"All snakes are pretty hard," meowed Foxshadow. "I can fetch you a mouse if you prefer."

The old she-cat humphed to herself and ripped off a piece of flesh from the snake, chewing it. "Skins' good."

"If you say so," Foxshadow meowed with a shudder. "I noticed that Darkpaw's done with his chores early. Maybe he can help you medicine cats with your herbs?"

"Is your apprentice too hard to take care of?" Yellowfang rasped, burping.

Foxshadow shrugged uncomfortably. "He's already proven himself a natural at hunting and battling. It's his attitude I'm having problems with. He lacks any sense of humility and respect."

"Sounds like a she-cat I know," meowed Yellowfang with a hoarse laugh.

Foxshadow felt her back twitch in irritation at the jab, and she sighed. "I'm just glad he finally did his chores without complaining."

"You mean," meowed Yellowfang, a questioning lilt to her voice, "you're glad Cloudpaw and Darkpaw's siblings did his chores without complaining?"

Foxshadow opened her mouth and closed it, stunned. "He didn't do his chores?"

"No," Yellowfang meowed. "The other youngest apprentices did his chores."

Foxshadow clawed the earth in fury. "I hope you enjoy your meal, Yellowfang. I _might_ be back to eat whatever's left over later. You'll be seeing my apprentice for a long while, most likely."

"Looking forward to it," Yellowfang meowed dryly, sounding not at all thrilled. "Thanks for the prey."

The deputy turned and padded towards Darkpaw, fur bristling. She felt like she was starting all the way back at the beginning with Darkpaw, which was even more frustrating since he used to be a warrior of ThunderClan.

"Darkpaw," she meowed, trying to keep her voice sweet, "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be doing something right now."

Darkpaw flicked an ear at her. "All my apprentice chores are already done."

" _Your_ apprentice chores? I hear they are Cloudpaw's and your sibling's chores now. "

The black tabby shifted, disgruntled. "They are my chores."

"Not when _everyone but you_ is doing them," meowed Foxshadow, struggling not to hiss. "I think it's time to give you new chores. You'll be working with the medicine cats gathering herbs for the next moon."

"What!" hissed Darkpaw, standing up. "I'm a warrior, not a medicine cat!"

"You're an apprentice," Foxshadow corrected. "And you will remain an apprentice for as long as I think you deserve it. So, no more complaining." She clawed the earth, a dangerous edge to her voice. "Or, perhaps, you would prefer some training?"

Darkpaw eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Foxshadow narrowed hers. "Yes..."

"Then train me!" the black tabby meowed, scrambling off the stump.

 _Is he serious?_ she thought. _Is he really this stupid?_

"Very well," she meowed, voice icily calm. "We're going to practice your tree climbing abilities. I hope your claws are sharp."

 _I'm going to beat it into his head until he finally gets it or until he's dead_ , she thought to herself, feeling strangely cold with fury.

Darkpaw lead the way out of camp and up the ravine, but when he turned their tiny patrol east towards the Great Sycamore, Foxshadow stopped him. "We aren't going to train at the Great Sycamore."

The black tabby slowed to a stop, tail twitching nervously. "It's the best way to practice climbing."

"It's not a challenge for a _former_ warrior like you," Foxshadow said with a sneer. "This way."

They padded west until they walked passed the scent line and into the shadow of a great oak tree. Foxshadow put a paw in front of Darkpaw to stop him from walking right passed it.

" _This_ is the tree you will be climbing," she meowed.

The young apprentice's jaw dropped. "You want me to climb the Owl Tree!?"

"Why are you surprised?" Foxshadow asked, genuinely confused. She had threatened to hurt him at the Sandy Hollow, put his life in danger by forcing him to train at Snakerocks, and he was still shocked that she had brought him to the Owl Tree? She shook her head at him. _No one_ could possibly be this stupid... even if she did treat them like that sometimes. "Start climbing!"

"But... but this is neutral territory!" he meowed, searching the branches fearfully.

"If you can't handle it, you can go back to camp and do your chores," meowed Foxshadow. _One way or the other, you're ending up in the medicine cat den tonight. If threats can't do anything to convince you to obey me, then that leaves one last thing._ "Meet you on the middle branch."

Without turning back, she bounded across the ground covered in owl pellets and launched herself expertly and smoothly up the tree, clawing skillfully around the tree branches until she was a good ways up. She stopped to look back down towards her apprentice, who remained firmly rooted to the spot.

"What's the matter? Scared of heights?" she taunted.

The black tabby hissed softly, the fur along his spine bristling. He hesitated only a second longer before following her up the tree. He was less skilled at climbing, his muscle not used to the strain of holding up his own weight, but he was determined to join her on her branch. They were a good five fox-lengths off the ground... and far enough away from ThunderClan territory to prevent a patrol from seeing either of them. There was a good spot on her left that led straight down to the ground.

The moment Darkpaw was standing beside her, she meowed, "Use your tail," and then kicked him off as hard as she could.

He shrieked as he suddenly found himself a tail-length away from anything that could prevent him from hitting the ground hard. Foxshadow cringed and dug her claws into the bark to prevent herself from jumping after him.

After a long loud moment, Darkpaw hit the ground and fell silent.

Tensing, Foxshadow shambled down the tree and landed nearby the black tabby. She pressed her nose into his shoulder, feeling momentarily relieved as she felt his chest rise and fall easily. She touched his ear with her nose and stared into his wide eyes.

 _He's just stunned,_ she thought, frowning. She hoped this worked. "A warrior doesn't complain about his duties nor does he give them to someone else to do. He takes responsibility for his actions, respects and serves the Clan and does as he's told to the best of his abilities. Every time you fail to live up to this ideal, Darkpaw, you come one step closer to trying my patience and one step closer to me killing you."

She stepped back from the stunned tom, waiting patiently for him to gather his wits. Anxiety prickled her paws as time dragged on and she wondered if she had actually done more damage to Frostfur's kit than she had intended. She wanted to scare the tom by stunning him - not kill him. She sent a quiet apology to the dead queen.

Finally, as the sun touched the horizon and began sinking, Darkpaw stirred and moaned. He struggled to his paws and shook with the strain of getting to his numb paws. Foxshadow circled around him until she was staring into his unfocused, pale yellow eyes.

"This is the last warning I'm every going to give you, Darkstripe," she meowed. "If you don't start acting like a real warrior, I am going to kill you. Now, tell me how a real warrior acts."

Darkpaw shuddered. "A warrior..." He swallowed. His voice practically droned; "A warrior doesn't complain about his duties nor does he give them to someone else to do. He takes responsibility for his actions, respects and serves the Clan and does as he's told to the best of his abilities." He stared at Foxshadow with slightly unfocused eyes.

"Good," she meowed, surprised that he could repeat her words exactly. Had StarClan intervened? Was that who he was staring at? "Let's get you back to camp and have Yellowfang check you over."

She hoped she wouldn't have anymore problems with Darkpaw. Maybe this time he had learned his lesson. Foxshadow lead him carefully back to camp and they entered the bramble tunnel side by side. Darkpaw seemed dazed and Foxshadow wondered if he had hit his head and possibly gotten a concussion. Worry and horror made her pelt prickle, but she forced it aside.

 _What else could I do?_ she thought, anxiety prickling her pelt. _I hope it's not so bad._

After instructing Darkpaw to remain standing a foxlength away from the medicine cat's den, she padded up to the medicine cat entrance, careful to avoid sticking her nose into the stench. "Yellowfang?" she yowled, worry leaking into her voice. "Mistleleaf? Darkpaw fell out of a tree and I think he might have hit his head on the way down."

With a gruff noise, Yellowfang emerged from the medicine cat den. A heartbeat later, Mistleleaf padded out with a wad of leaves in her mouth.

"Mistleleaf," meowed Foxshadow, touching her nose to Mistleleaf in silent greeting. Instead of lingering to converse, Foxshadow moved aside, sat and looked at her apprentice. "He fell about five foxlengths and landed on his legs, but it knocked the wind out of him. He was lying there for about half the time it takes the sun to get from sunhigh to the horizon. He seemed to be able to hear me and answered one of my questions perfectly before we started walking back. He hasn't spoken since and his eyes haven't focused on anything. I think he might have some bruising in his skull."

"Are you a medicine cat now?" asked Yellowfang, pressing her nose to Darkpaw's ear to check his temperature before jabbing a paw at his side. She turned her attention to the black tabby tom. "Lie down and eat some of Mistleleaf's herbs."

"Is he okay?" Foxshadow asked, anxiously.

"We'll see," Yellowfang meowed, tersely as Mistleleaf put the herb bundle down. The old she-cat pushed it towards Darkpaw to eat.

Mistleleaf sat next to Foxshadow. She spoke carefully and quietly. "If he hadn't fallen out of the tree, this wouldn't have happened."

Startled, Foxshadow looked at Mistleleaf. She dipped her head and murmured, "Nothing else was working."

Mistleleaf flattened her ears. "He's stubborn."

"He's Darkstripe," Foxshadow murmured back, "and he was never properly trained to begin with."

Yellowfang stepped back, satisfied with her prodding and the results from the herbs, padded over to Foxshadow. Her whiskers twitched knowingly. "Though I'm sure you already know, you're apprentice is going to be fine. He is just taking a bit longer than normal to recover from the shock of the fall."

Foxshadow nodded, relieved.

But Yellowfang was not done. Her eyes narrowed. "There were other ways of getting your apprentice stuck in my medicine cat den for a quarter moon, Foxshadow." There was a bit of a teasing edge to her tone.

Without reacting to it, Foxshadow dipped her head. "Thank you, Yellowfang. When he wakes and is fit to do chores again, I'm sure you can put him to some good use. Perhaps you can help teach him how to be obedient so he can stop doing stupid things."

"I doubt I could do that any better than you," Yellowfang meowed, before looking at her apprentice. "Come Mistleleaf. We need to prepare Darkpaw a nest."

Mistleleaf nodded and padded inside the medicine cat den, her mentor at her heels. Foxshadow felt disappointment in seeing Mistleleaf leave, but turned away quickly to look at Darkpaw.

"I hope there won't be a next time, Darkpaw," she meowed quietly to him. "I've already broken my promise to your mate. I'd hate to have to do anything more than that."

* * *

 **A/N: A lot of work must be put into making a stupid, self-absorbed, self-important and stubborn cat actually pay attention to their mentor, especially when they think they already know everything. We shall see if any of this character building/story building actually has a positive effect on Darkpaw. Third time's the charm!  
**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Happy New Year! (7 minutes to midnight over here!)**


	50. Rising Storm pt 5

**A/N: So, we're pretty much split down the middle as to whether or not Foxshadow went too far. Perfect!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Pretty well! (A) Well, the thing about snakesrocks is that there are a lot of snakes and most aren't even that hungry so they never really attack cats unless they are threatened and, if you catch them after their done breeding, you can actually find it easier to kill them because they are super relaxed. They are a large source of protein. ShadowClan would be better able to explain it, since they tend to kill and eat all the animals most other Clans consider "dangerous" like rats and snakes or "disgusting" like snakes and frogs. (B) Yellowfang dislikes Foxy on principle, but is tolerating of her antics due to knowing Foxy only does it for the sake of kits. (C) Yup. (D) Foxy doesn't want to kill him but does want to scare him since she is convinced that is the only way to get him to respect her. Well... Also, I have a question about this; would it have been easier pill to swallow if Foxy had straight up just killed Darkpaw and been done with it? Would you still consider Foxy to be good? (E) Foxy does care about him only because he's her former mentor and also inhabits the body of one of Frostfur's kits.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: That sounds like a pain! I'll have to watch the whole thing some time. Too busy right now.  
**

 **EVA-Saiyajin: (Ch16) Yeah, watery eyes or even teary eyes doesn't necessary mean they are actually crying or can cry. It's just how Foxy perceived them. Cats physically cannot cry. (Ch17) He's with RiverClan and Sliverstream now, so he's at least got his happy ending. I wanted him gone so he wouldn't be the deputy of ThunderClan. In fact, I didn't even want him to have an apprentice. He never struck me as the deputy type.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: (FOR FIRST REVIEW) (1) I'm glad you don't think Foxshadow is morally in the right here. I would hate to think that she was 100% a good person. (2) I have not read it but I have seen the movie. I'm now resisting the urge to edit that scene. (3) No more mentor on apprentice torture. I promise! :) "Third time's the charm" was in reference to the fact that it had been the third time Foxshadow had done something about her apprentice... and for once got results (4) Darkpaw: "What in StarClan is a New Year?" (FOR SECOND REVIEW) (5) Nah, you're fine. I'm glad that you still think Darkpaw deserves it - Foxy _was_ overreacting, which is enough for her to deserve some equally harsh criticism for it. Mad or not, a deputy/queen should not let her emotions put someone else in danger.  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: Actually, Foxshadow doesn't know about that prophecy beyond being told by Mistleleaf that Brokenstar was the face of darkness. If anyone would name him that, it would be Bluestar. Also, snake does not taste like chicken - Foxy just thinks it does because a) she hasn't tasted chicken in a long time and b) she doesn't have human tastebuds anymore.  
**

 **MagiMon: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy most of the changes I made!  
**

 **Willowstorm of SkyClan: Omg, thank you! I'm so glad to hear from you again, too!  
**

 **Yolo: Ask and you shall recieve! Her kits will come at the end of Rising Storm. I've plotted a book focusing on them, too.  
**

 **Imprisoned Wings: Darkpaw is excited for a very different reason than other apprentices. I explain that a bit in this chapter.  
**

 **lemon: Apparently my proof readings skills suck and I need to work on them, too. And nitpicking can be good in some instances, especially when it comes to editing and proofreading. If you ever feel in the mood, I'd really appreciate if you could point out all the flaws in grammar when you see them.  
**

* * *

 _ _The night was cold and dark and terrible.__

 _A loud clicking filled the air, like many blunt claws on the top of a monster. Terror filled him and blood pounded in his ears but when he forced himself to move - to run, to escape - the thick mud clung to his fur and he fell down, sinking deeper into the muck. The more he fought it, the more it sucked him down into the mud. A wail escaped him as the first wave of black, beady-eyed monsters swarmed down the other side of the ditch towards him. The mud rose around him until he couldn't even see his legs.  
_

 _"None of this should have happened," a familiar she-cat hissed into his ear as a black wave of rats swarmed over him, suffocating him with their carrion-stench. "Foxpaw did this to you."_

 _Then suddenly he was falling, branches whipping at him as he passed. He felt like he was falling forever and he instinctively twisted to get his feet under him. He caught a glimpse of his killer in the trees. Dark amber eyes glared at him from a scared face_ _ _as the words of his mentor echoing in his mind.__

 _"A warrior doesn't complain about his duties nor does he give them to someone else to do. He takes responsibility for his actions, respects and serves the Clan and does as he's told to the best of his abilities. Every time you fail to live up to this ideal, Darkpaw, you come one step closer to trying my patience and one step closer to me killing you."_

Darkpaw jerked awake and scrambled to his paws, only to cry out as his legs collapsed under him from the pain. A horrified keen escaped him as he stared in shock around himself, half-expecting his murderer to be there, waiting for him. When no one showed, he relaxed in relief and grimaced as headache suddenly began pounding in his skull.

At the sound of his cry, a dark gray she-cat poked her head into the den. Darkpaw could smell her before he saw her, and he opened his eyes, squinting past the pain.

"Yellowfang?" he meowed, his voice sounding so painfully like a kits'.

"So you remember my name now," she meowed. She immediately shoved a bundle of herbs into his face. "Eat these."

Darkpaw squinted at the herbs, identifying thyme and a poppy seed among them. It took him a moment to remember what each did and he ate them almost gratefully, before succumbing to a long sleep.

When he jerked awake again, he was relieved that there had been no nightmares. He looked around for more herbs to eat and instead found a mouse. His belly growled at him and he immediately bent to eat it. The bones crunched deliciously between his teeth and he swallowed each bite slowly to savor the taste.

"Hey, Darkstripe!"

The black tabby jumped at the sound, not really registering the words, before he saw Mistleleaf and gave her a glare. "Don't sneak up on me," he half-growled. He forced his fur flat and tried to summon an air of indifference, looking disinterestedly away from Mistleleaf. "What do you want?"

The white she-cat blinked her mismatching eyes. "I can give you something to help you rest." She pushed some thyme towards him.

Darkpaw bristled, sneering. "I don't have _anxiety_."

"It will help you rest," she repeated, glancing down at the herb as she thought about it for a second. "You can't leave this den until you are healed and you want to get it over with as soon as possible, right?"

Unable to argue with Mistleleaf's reasoning, the dark apprentice gave a moody growl and bent to eat the thyme, ignoring the bland taste of it in his mouth. When he swallowed, he cleared his throat. "I suppose this means my training is going to be postponed."

Mistleleaf shrugged. "That's up to Foxface. She's the deputy now, you know."

The black tabby huffed a laugh at the insult and felt himself relax. "I'll have to remember that one." He lifted his head, a wave of tiredness washing over him. "She shouldn't have been the deputy. If Tigerclaw, was here, he'd be the deputy as is his right."

The white she-cat blinked. "Tigerclaw was a murderer and a traitor," she meowed carefully, as if repeating something she had heard over and over again. "He killed Redtail and tried to take over ThunderClan."

"Can you blame him?" Darkpaw growled. "Bluestar killed her own kits, Bluestar let a kittypet into the Clan, and then she allowed that rogue to kill me. I mean, my father. Now she parades around think she's some kind of a warrior."

The white cat had nothing to say this, her eyes wide with surprise, and she stared at him for a long moment before turning and leaving the den. Darkpaw didn't think to ponder on this and curled up in his nest, glad to not be surrounded by apprentices for one night.

When he woke up, a different white cat had entered the den and was curled up next to him. He recognize his son's scent immediately.

"Snowpaw," he meowed, irritated. When the white tom didn't move, Darkpaw jabbed his side with a paw and hissed. "Snowpaw!"

The tom blinked awake, his dark green eyes almost black. He looked at his brother and let out a yawn loudly. "Oh, hey, Darkpaw," he meowed. "I thought you could use the company."

Darkpaw resisted a growl, his face barely twisting in a sneer. "Don't you have patrol with Sandstorm?"

"She gave me the day off so I could be with you," Snowpaw meowed innocently.

"Of course she did," meowed Darkpaw, wishing said she-cat was here so he could claw her ears off. His thoughts turned elsewhere and his voice dropped into a more cautious tone. "Did she happen to mention if my own mentor wanted anything from me?"

Snowpaw squinted his eyes and slowly shook his head. "Not that I can remember." He frowned, his eyes furrowed in thought.

Darkpaw relaxed, before feeling irritated again. With Foxshadow outright refusing to actually train him, it would be moons before he could be a warrior again and Darkpaw was growing more and more fed up with the chores he didn't think he deserved to be doing in the first place. _I have to prove myself to Bluestar or Sandstorm somehow._

"I hope we get a warrior assessment soon," he meowed, realizing belatedly that it would be very unlikely Foxshadow would let him participate. He flattened his ears.

"You think we're ready?" meowed Snowpaw, eyes wide. "We've only been apprentices for a halfmoon."

"Only that long?" Darkpaw meowed, surprised. He felt like it had been much longer. Doing nothing but meaningless chores had completely warped his perception of time. He let out aloud groan. "I'll never be a warrior at this rate!"

"You won't be a warrior at all if you keep falling out of trees," rasped a voice, and Darkpaw instinctively hissed at the ex-ShadowClan cat. The dark gray she-cat didn't even blink at him, her eyes studying him thoughtfully. "Your mentor wanted me to tell you that you'll be on medicine cat chores for the next moon."

"That's not fair!" Darkpaw meowed, before swallowing in shock.

 _Not fair?_ a voice that sounded a lot like Foxshadow's seemed to hiss into his ear. _Not fair, Darkstripe, is you being reincarnated when there are many other cats who deserve it more than you do._

 _I deserve this more than anyone!_ he internally seethed. _I should never have died!_

"Life isn't fair," meowed Yellowfang. "Now, I expect you to help me with my herb stores so I can teach you what herbs you will be looking for when you finally leave this place."

"Fine," Darkpaw half-growled.

Seemingly satisfied, the old she-cat padded away into the darkness.

"All you ever seem to do now is chores," meowed Snowpaw. "Does Foxshadow hate you?"

Relieved that Snowpaw hadn't asked him whether or not he had actually done anything wrong, Darkpaw raised his head angrily. "She's jealous of my natural talent and the fact that I have ThunderClan blood. Rogues are like that."

Snowpaw looked unsure. "She just seems so nice all the time. She loved playing with us in the nursery, remember?"

"She played with us in the nursery?" Darkpaw had spent most of his time in the nursery sleeping. It was great to had so much free time, but now he was regretting it. Playing, after all, was itself a type of training exercise and, with Foxshadow refusing to train him and him being stuck on chores, he had no time to practice any of the skills of his past life and work his muscles.

"Yeah," meowed Snowpaw. "She would play with all the older kits and then when they were gone she spent almost every day playing with us." He gave Darkpaw's confused expression an equally confused look. "You don't remember?"

Darkpaw shrugged off the question as he became lost in his own thoughts. Why would Foxshadow become so interested in playing with his kits? "Did she play with Goldenflower's kits?"

"Yeah," meowed Snowpaw, "and she would always try to find ways so that we could all play together whenever she was too busy. We were all assigned to Clans, with Frostpaw in charge of one and Bramblepaw in charge of the other. Cloudpaw always ended up playing the part of Bramblepaw's deputy and Icepaw was always Frostpaw's. They always made me play Bramblepaw's medicine cat. It was fun but I wanted to be a warrior."

The black tabby looked completely lost as he listened to his son. How could he have missed that? "Didn't you guys wake me for any of it?"

"We tried, but you would always make us go away for disturbing your nap," Snowpaw meowed. "They stopped asking after a while and you just never said yes whenever I asked."

Darkpaw felt a pang of loss. But Darkpaw had never had any interest in being near Foxshadow, so rejecting the offer was the only choice he would have picked even if he had learned about this before becoming an apprentice. He hated that it came at the cost of whatever potential brotherhood he and his son could have had together. He knew this was somehow Foxshadow's fault.

"Well, of course I would," meowed Darkpaw, "if I knew Foxshadow was playing the part of StarClan."

"I supposed," meowed Snowpaw, sounding disappointed. He forced himself to be cheery, though. "Maybe we can train together. I'm sure Sandstorm and Foxshadow would love it. They always like training the apprentices."

"Foxshadow trains the other apprentices?" asked Darkpaw, suddenly angry. _What about me!?_

"Yeah," he meowed. "Bramblepaw says that she likes to check up on everyone's training as often as she can. She does it on patrols and stuff, which is why everyone keeps being switched around all the time."

Darkpaw seethed, suddenly wanting his son to understand his situation. "Why can't she just train me? I can get out of her fur faster!"

"She's probably just really busy all the time," Snowpaw meowed.

"If she was going to be busy all the time, why not just give me to another warrior?" Darkpaw clawed the ground, shredding his moss nest. "Dustpelt doesn't have an apprentice!"

Snowpaw looked uncomfortable and shrugged. "Maybe Foxshadow just thought you were special, somehow?"

Darkpaw's jaw snapped shut and he let out a low growl, hating that Snowpaw had landed perfectly on Foxshadow's reasoning. After all, if Foxshadow didn't know that Darkpaw and Darkstripe were one and the same, Foxshadow probably wouldn't have looked at him twice.

 _She's jealous that I'm alive!_ he thought.

"Darkpaw!" rasped Yellowfang, her voice noticeably cross. "Stop mewling with your brother and get over here! StarClan, I can't hear myself think with all your whining."

Snowpaw looked hopefully at his brother. "Maybe I can help?"

Before Darkpaw could open his mouth, Yellowfang stuck her head into their chamber and gave the white tom a glare. "You're brother isn't a kit anymore, Snowpaw, so go do some other chores. I don't need you distracting him."

Snowpaw immediately wilted, lowering his tail and flattening his ears. "Yes, Yellowfang."

The black tabby watched his son leave the den and suddenly felt abandoned, though he couldn't entirely understand why.

Yellowfang growled at him. "Now, Darkpaw!"

Darkpaw found himself obediently rising to his paws. Even as Yellowfang started to point out herbs to him that he already knew, his mind was getting further and further away.

 _You're going to be on apprentice duties for your entire_ _apprenticeship_ , sneered Foxshadow's voice, _and I'm not going to teach you a thing._

Darkpaw hadn't believed that was true until he had suddenly found himself four foxlengths up and falling from a tree. Thankfully, it hadn't been high enough to actually break his bones and he was experienced enough to correct his fall so his legs could absorb the impact, but from the way his muscles protested he knew he was lucky that Foxshadow hadn't waited for him to climb higher.

 _She doesn't have it in her to kill a kit or an apprentice,_ he told himself, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Next time she kicked him out of a tree, she might wait until he was two foxlengths higher.

 _Not fair is me having to sit here and train my own mentor who never even tried to train me. Tigerclaw and Lionheart put more effort in my training than you ever did and if it wasn't for either of them, I wouldn't be here._

With a jolt of shock, he realized that if he was going to train to become a warrior, he would have to do it on his own.

* * *

 **A/N: Darkpaw is down but not out.**

 **So, I'm going to be updating at least once on the weekends or once on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm still trying to figure out how to work with my new schedule. Sorry for not updating in the last week, school started.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	51. Rising Storm pt 6

**A/N: Hope you guys are having a great weekend!  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Oh, no! That's horrible. As for Darkstripe, well, we'll see...  
**

 **Vinejay: Yeah, school is rough. I think/hope I can do it!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Hm. (1) Yeah, Mapleshade is dead canonically speaking and in the Dark Forest. She was going to make an actual appearance sooner but I didn't want her stealing the spotlight from Tigerclaw. (2) Mistleleaf loves Foxy, but doesn't want to upset Goosefeather by talking to her. (3) Yeah, I do, except I don't think I'd know unless I actually wrote a story featuring it. (4) Yes, someone is going to notice... eventually.  
**

 **Spottedfire629: Thank you so much! I honestly want to be a professional writer, but I've got a lot to figure out on how to make outlines before that. I won't begin until I'm satisfied with myself but I honestly think I'm almost there.  
**

 **lemon: Thank you so much! They've been fixed. I'm honestly surprised it was only two. Ah well. What's the show?  
**

* * *

Foxshadow greeted Yellowfang with a timid mew as the dark gray padded out of the medicine cat den to meet her. "Is Darkpaw here?"

"He's out collecting herbs," rasped Yellowfang. "He was eager to get out of the camp."

Foxshadow sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried he wouldn't be able to walk again."

"He wouldn't be injured at all if you hadn't made him climb a tree," groused Yellowfang. "He barely has any muscle on him right now. It's no wonder he fell."

The dark brown she-cat flattened her ears and dipped her head. "I'm sorry. I promise to be more careful next time." _I promise I won't take him out "training" next time I get angry._

 _But didn't you promise to kill him_? a nasty voice in her head asked.

 _That's different,_ she thought, _if he can't obey me - his deputy - despite his feelings about me, then he's a liability to the Clan._

The thought didn't even sound right in her own head. An image of the stunned tom lying on the ground for what felt like an hour cut through her mind as sharp as claws. She didn't have the stomach to kill Darkpaw anymore. If he had been a warrior and if he had tried to kill Sorrelkit, then things would be different. Foxshadow wouldn't even hesitate to send him into the gorge. But right now, Darkpaw was a kit and he reminded her too much of when Ravenpaw was an apprentice, scared out of his mind about his mentor.

 _I'm just like him_ , she thought, bile rising in her throat. _I'm just like Tigerclaw._

"Don't you have patrols to attend to," meowed Yellowfang, her fur ruffled.

Foxshadow blinked at their senior medicine cat and quickly nodded. "Yes," she meowed quickly, glad to have a reason to leave. "I need to check on Bramblepaw's training."

She padded off quickly and began looking around for the apprentice or his mentor. A sudden urge to ask Bluestar to make the apprentice a warrior right away surged through her but she suppressed it, reminding herself that Bramblepaw was both still a kit and not nearly ready to be a warrior yet. She just couldn't wait for Fireheart to be ready to take over her duties. Now more than ever, she wanted nothing to do with the leadership position or nine lives.

 _I'm going to have to train Darkpaw,_ _eventually_ , she thought to herself, torn on the thought. _He can't be a warrior if he doesn't have the muscle memory for it._

 _But last time you told him you would train him, you nearly killed him,_ the nasty voice said. _He's never going to trust you now._

 _I know it was a bad idea!_ she thought, desperately looking for some solid justification. _Besides, he tried to kill Sorrelkit. He deserved it._

But she knew he only did that in another life. Who knew what this Darkpaw was capable of, especially now that he had died and come back? He might have a change of heart and become a true warrior of ThunderClan. Foxshadow hoped so, or else kicking him out of that tree would have been for naught.

 _Perhaps StarClan did send him back,_ she thought bitterly _, as a test to see if I would kill him. They've been wanting to get rid of me since I tricked Mistleleaf into giving me information on Bluestar's nine lives. Bluestar herself still hasn't told me if she has one life left or two. I thought we were over these trust issues!_

 _You went behind her back and campaigned against her deputy when you were the only one available to take over_ , the nasty voice said. _I think there's reason not to trust._

Horror at this realization squeezed her heart. _Great StarClan, what have I done? I'm becoming just like Tigerclaw and Brokenstar! If I kill Darkpaw, I'll be just like them!  
_

Foxshadow clawed the earth in frustration, desperate. _But I need him to be convinced I will kill him_ , she argued. _Or else he will never change!_

 _Who says you are the one who is going to change him? Maybe nothing will ever change him.  
_

Feeling stung by her own thoughts, Foxshadow turned and padded out of camp. The responsibility of being deputy and her desire for Fireheart to succeed Bluestar just suddenly seemed too much to handle.

The nasty voice continued; _How can you train Darkpaw for his whole apprenticeship when you're planning to retire to the nursery the moment Bramblepaw becomes a warrior?_

She tried to focus on hunting but instead found herself unable to track any of the squirrels that danced between the trees. So instead, she padded to the stream, hoping to catch a minnow for herself. But once she got there, she couldn't bring herself to put any effort into it. Her heart had sunk down into her paws.

 _Is there any hope for Darkpaw?_ she thought, staring down into her reflection. _Or is he just going to follow in the pawsteps of Tigerclaw and Brokenstar before him?_

She stared at the ripping waters but there was no answer in their muddy depths. It took her a long moment to realize that the water had risen a lot since she had last been there.

The newleaf season brought with it a ton of rain and weather as the winds dragged the clouds in from the southwestern shores. Every storm rolled up from ThunderClan territory and spread rapidly across the northern territories. She vaguely remembered from the books that the storms sometimes got so bad that RiverClan had to abandon their camp, the whole island submerged in the river. An ripple of unease filled her. The Gathering wasn't that far away and, if the waters rose too high, ThunderClan would be unable to attend.

All thoughts of Darkpaw suddenly took a backseat. With a new problem to focus on, she turned away from the stream and padded back towards the camp and straight into Bluestar's den.

"Bluestar," she meowed, dipping her head respectfully before realizing that someone else was also present. "Fireheart?"

The bright orange ticked tabby dipped his head. "Foxshadow."

"Fireheart was just telling me about the river. It has burst it's banks and much of Sunningrocks has been turned to mud," meowed Bluestar.

Foxshadow felt like Bluestar had just slapped her in the face. Even when not being deputy of ThunderClan, Fireheart was a better deputy than her. She nodded, hiding her emotion behind a mask. "I was about to mention it to you, Bluestar. I was thinking about the Gathering. Has there ever been a moment in the past that a rainstorm or the rising river banks would cause a Gathering to be cancelled?"

"If the moon is covered, yes," meowed Bluestar carefully. "But we must not refuse to meet at a Gathering just because of the river, even if some of the other Clans are unable to make it."

"It would be foolish to go only for no one to be there," meowed Foxshadow. "I'm sure WindClan would prefer to stay in their dens than go to the Gathering."

"Yes, but you forget that this Gathering marks a special occasion. DarkClan must prove that StarClan is ready to accept them as a full Clan."

Foxshadow had all but forgotten that DarkClan was still on trial for having been under Brokenstar. After the last three moons, Blackfoot still had not received his nine lives. Foxshadow hoped this would change at the next gathering, or else the potential problems would be too much to bear.

"There is some evidence to suggest they have already broken the warrior code," meowed Bluestar. "If you remember from the last Gathering, Blackfoot announced that four of their kits have already become warriors though none of us have seen any of them at the Gatherings."

"You think that Blackfoot made them warriors too early and is hiding it?" Foxshadow could already feel her heart starting to pound. _Was Brokenstar's exile and death for nothing?_ She dug her claws into the ground and gritted her teeth. _Sabletail, I hope none of your kits are warriors yet._ "We cannot assume that is true. We have to give them the benefit of the doubt."

"I agree," meowed Bluestar, before looking at her former apprentice. "As does Fireheart."

 _You didn't think to ask me first?_ Foxshadow wondered, hurt. She swallowed it and dipped her head. It was only natural that Bluestar would consult her former apprentice and potential future deputy of ThunderClan. Foxshadow wished that her old jealousy of Fireheart would stop; they weren't apprentices anymore. "Then I suppose we will simply have to wait for the Gathering."

Bluestar nodded. "I want you to select who is going."

"Yes, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow, relieved at the dismissal. "I'll tell you who I chose when I return."

 _She could have done this herself,_ the nasty voice thought. _She doesn't do anything, really._

Foxshadow ignored it. She already had a good idea of who was going to the Gathering and she didn't want her apprentice anywhere on the list. She would wait a day before telling Bluestar who would be going. Hopefully the Gathering wouldn't be cancelled on account of some bad weather; the fate of DarkClan could depend on it.

* * *

As the Gathering patrol headed towards Fourtrees, Foxshadow made sure to keep a tail length behind both Fireheart and Bluestar. Brackenfur had been left in charge back at camp during their absence and Foxshadow was convinced they couldn't have left the camp in more capable paws - not even Fireheart's. She glanced at the orange Abyssinian ; he had walked the whole way with his head high as if he was already leading the Clan. Foxshadow resisted the urge to glare at him.

 _I'm not Tigerclaw_ , she told herself. _There's no reason to antagonize Fireheart._

She looked around for her mate, ignoring the fluffy conversation Ravenfeather and Cinderheart were having together, and padded over to Dustpelt right away. He, Longtail, Swiftwind and Thornclaw had gathered together at the edge of the group, as far removed from Fireheart as they could get without being at the back of the patrol. Foxshadow noted this with a nervous flick of her ears.

 _The Clan is so accepting of me being deputy, but if Fireheart becomes deputy it could cause a divide in the Clan. Would this Longtail, Thornclaw and Dustpelt stand for Fireheart being leader when I'm here in the Clan? Would Fireheart be able to get them to follow him despite their animosity? Or would a civil war threaten to brew?  
_

She gave a half-nod to Swiftwind and Thornclaw, with a more proper nod to Longtail, before turning to her mate. "Hey, Dustpelt. I was hoping we could hunt together sometime after the Gathering."

"Sure," meowed Dustpelt, before pausing. "What about your apprentice?"

"He's gotten himself into trouble again. Disobeyed me, showed off, and fell out of a tree." Foxshadow wished that she could stop lying. She couldn't bring herself to look Dustpelt in the eye. "Anyway, I wanted to hunt with you alone because I thought it might be fun."

Dustpelt twitched an ear at her and agreed. "It would be nice."

Foxshadow purred but trailed off with a worried frown, wondering if she should tell him about her plans... or her fears. She wanted to, especially since she was planning something big for the Gathering. She hoped that it would be the best for all five Clans.

They finally crested the rise and the patrol was standing at the edge of the giant bowl. The deputy padded quickly up to her leader, wanting to present a united front against the other cats. Bluestar greeted her with a nod and raised her tail, gesturing for the cats to descend. Without a second thought, Foxshadow raced to her spot underneath the Great Rock where all the other deputies would normally be when the meeting started. She was surprised to find Blackclaw there and even more surprised when he dipped his head to her like an equal.

"Hello, Foxshadow," he meowed, expression stoic.

"Blackclaw," she greeted, sounding winded, and frowned. "Who died?"

Blackclaw dipped his head. "Crookedstar died of greencough near the end of Leaf-bare. Stonestar is our new leader."

Foxshadow was surprised that it wasn't Mistyfoot in Blackclaw's place, but she dipped her head respectfully anyway. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure Oakheart and Crookedstar are resting peacefully in StarClan." She paused. "How are your daughter and mate?"

"Shadepelt's kits are just learning to speak," meowed Blackclaw, awkwardly. "Mistyfoot is deciding whether or not she wants to return to the nursery."

"I hear that it's a difficult choice for all queens," meowed Foxshadow slowly. "I am thinking about becoming a queen."

Blackclaw flicked an ear at this and hesitated before mewing, "You would make a great mother."

With a purr, Foxshadow gazed out over her Clanmates.

"Do you mind if I ask who is your mate?" meowed Blackclaw.

Foxshadow looked back at Blackclaw in surprise. "Oh, no, I don't mind. He's Dustpelt."

Blackclaw's gaze swept ThunderClan. "Does he look like Mousefur?"

"Yes. They're siblings from two different litters." Foxshadow's gaze swept the RiverClan cats. "Does Shadepelt plan to come to the Gathering soon?"

"Not that she has told me," Blackclaw meowed slowly.

"You know you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," Foxshadow meowed with a purr. The smokey black tom blinked gratefully and looked away.

It wasn't long after the four Clans and (technically) one rogue group had settled down that the five leaders leaped up to the Great Rock to announce to everyone that the Gathering had begun.

Stonestar stepped forward first, his dark amber eyes staring out over the whole Gathering. "Cats of all Clans, a halfmoon ago, RiverClan's leader, Crookedstar, died from greencough. He rests with his brother and our former deputy, Oakheart, in StarClan, but as long as Tigerclaw lives his spirit cannot be at peace. Now that I have been granted my nine lives by StarClan, I promise that RiverClan will continue to hunt down Tigerclaw no matter what. If he should ever show up on our territory, rest assured he will be killed."

Foxshadow shuddered at the conviction in Stonestar's voice and glanced at Blackclaw, but the stoic tom revealed nothing.

"Also, before anything else is said, RiverClan would like to know what is to become of DarkClan." The blue-gray tabby turned his gaze on Blackfoot and then on Mudfur. "Has StarClan sent a sign?"

Foxshadow followed his gaze, where Mudfur and Primrosepaw were curled beside each other as mentor and apprentice. When Primrosepaw noticed that Foxshadow was looking at her, she ducked behind Mudfur with a shudder. Foxshadow inwardly flinched at the reminder of what happened at Sunningrocks so long ago. Her scaring the she-cat had been what had convinced her to become a medicine cat in the first place. Her siblings still hadn't forgiven her - and neither had Heavystep.

However, Barkface of WindClan rose to his paws instead. "I have been training Rosepaw of DarkClan. She has been selected by StarClan to become their next Medicine Cat."

The whole Gathering erupted into murmurings, finally taking notice of the black tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat crouching beside Barkface. The six-moon-old apprentice was the first apprentice a lot of them had seen from DarkClan. Foxshadow's gaze swept the group of DarkClan cats and she identified about three more apprentices, all of them around nine to ten moons old, and definitely not of the same litter. Foxshadow wondered why she had never seen them before and her eyes narrowed. Could those three be the new warriors that Blackfoot had been talking about?

"If StarClan accepts them," meowed Bluestar slowly, "then ThunderClan accepts them."

"ShadowClan agrees," meowed Nightstar, sounding relieved. "This is surely a sign they are meant to be a Clan."

Deadstar, once Deadfoot of WindClan, rose to his paws with his hackles raised. "WindClan does not accept this as a good reason for DarkClan to stay on our border!"

Yowls of agreement rose from the WindClan warriors. Foxshadow nodded, silently agreeing with them, and she mentally checked over what she had wanted to say. Now, she just needed an opening.

"RiverClan accepts DarkClan," meowed Stonestar, fur relaxing. He looked at Deadstar. "WindClan's concern is not RiverClan's concern, however, so we will make no comment on such an issue."

Murmurs of approval from RiverClan greeted this statement. Foxshadow rose to her paws and a hush suddenly swept through ThunderClan, DarkClan and ShadowClan.

"It is clear," meowed Foxshadow, her voice sounding strangely loud and causing the rest of the cats to become quiet, "that StarClan recognizes DarkClan as a Clan that is trying it's best to follow the warrior code. However, Blackfoot, your name concerns us all. Have you been to the Moonstone to receive your nine lives?"

The black and white tom twitches his tail at her. "Yes, I have."

"Then, are you not Blackstar?" Foxshadow asked, carefully.

There was a long pause. "No."

A murmur of confusion spread throughout the Clans. Nightstar turned to Blackfoot, hope in his eyes. "Perhaps StarClan wishes for DarkClan to rejoin ShadowClan."

"No," meowed Barkface. "Why would StarClan give DarkClan a medicine cat if that is what they wanted? ShadowClan has two capable medicine cats and they do not need a third."

Nightstar flattened his ears and his voice was edged in anger. "What do you propose StarClan means then?"

Barkface shifted. "Perhaps StarClan wishes for them to join WindClan."

A gasp of horror rippled through the WindClan cats. The mere suggestion of having Brokenstar's Clan join them was outrageous, despite the fact that they were both the smallest Clans currently in the forest. As if aware of this, Barkface dipped his head in silence.

Foxshadow raised her tail, feeling much like a kinder-gardener raising their hand to speak in class for the first time. ThunderClan became quiet and, after a moment of silence, ShadowClan and RiverClan followed. Foxshadow looked towards Yellowfang. "Do all medicine cats confirm that DarkClan is now recognized in the eyes of StarClan as it's own Clan?"

"Of course they do," Yellowfang rasped, with an annoyed look at her. "We were all there when StarClan chose Rosepaw to become medicine cat apprentice."

Foxshadow nodded. "Then I think I know what the problem is."

A ripple of surprise spread through the Clans. Foxshadow sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws, suddenly nervous.

"Explain yourself," Blackfoot meowed harshly, eyes flashing.

Foxshadow dipped her head respectfully, acknowledging Blackfoot's status as a leader but looked at Bluestar for permission. The blue-gray queen nodded and Foxshadow spoke.

"This is not the first time that StarClan has rejected a deputy from becoming leader of it's Clan," meowed Foxshadow. "Something similar happened to SkyClan. It was, in fact, key in SkyClan's destruction."

The mention of the missing fifth - now sixth - Clan caused the whole Gathering to fall silent. Looking resigned to the answer, Blackfoot waved his tail for her to continue.

Foxshadow sucked in a breathe to gather her thoughts and then spoke carefully. "Many moons ago, when I was an apprentice of SkyClan and my name was Barkpaw, a great tragedy struck our camp and forced us to flee. In the process, our Clan was split in two and separated from each other. My father, Thunderbird, was deputy of SkyClan and he led our group on a mission to find the rest of our Clan. But when we found our way back to camp, there was no one else there. We waited for moons as our group slowly began to grow smaller and, eventually, gave up our leader for dead. Thunderbird went to the Moonpool, the place where we would communicate with StarClan to receive visions, and asked to be made leader of what remained of our Clan in the hopes that it would rally them together and give the strength they needed to combat the future."

Foxshadow paused. "However, StarClan rejected him. They didn't even show up in his dream to meet him. Crestfallen, he returned to us with the news that our ancestors had abandoned us. Our group continued to die off until, one day, after my father had been killed by a badger, we found our former leader. He was still alive, trapped in a twoleg nest with no way to escape. When he learned of what happened to the rest of his Clan and told us the tragic fates of the rest, he denounced his name and his lives, claiming that SkyClan was no more and StarClan had abandoned us. Without a leader, medicine cat or deputy, we could not remain together and all who remained disbursed. I went to the Moonpool for answers as to why they had refused my father as leader of SkyClan, but they told me it was because our leader had still been alive at the time. After that, I became Bark and traveled the twolegplace for a while before I ended up in ThunderClan."

Foxshadow was secretly glad that her OC character Foxtail's background actually covered most of this, though she had to tweak the names and story a bit to make it more relevant. When she fell silent, she watched the leaders nervously as silence hung over the whole clearing.

"Are you suggesting," meowed a ShadowClan cat, voice raised in horror, "that Brokenstar is still alive!?"

Foxshadow looked sharply towards the voice, hoping that it wasn't Newtspeck. "A leader has nine lives. Unless the wound is too severe for StarClan to heal or they simply refuse to heal the wound because he has been exiled by his Clan, a leader will merely lose one life. Brokenstar must have had enough lives to survive both the fall from the gorge long enough to wash up on shore somewhere far downstream." Her mind mentally searched her own map of the warriors universe and she did not like where that would put Brokenstar. "Not only do I believe he is alive, I also think I know where he is."

"Where?" Blackfoot growled, the hunger in his voice reflected in many eyes in the crowd.

Foxshadow looked over the crowd of strangers, her voice going quiet under the ferocity of their gazes. "He is in the gorge where SkyClan was destroyed."

A stunned silence greeted this statement before the entire forest erupted into noise. Foxshadow didn't try to quiet them and simply wrapped her tail tighter around herself. Her heart pounded and she prayed that it was going to work.

"We have to go and kill him!" yowled a DarkClan tom.

"We need to avenge our kits!" yowled a ShadowClan she-cat.

"He should have died!" yowled Mudclaw, the WindClan deputy.

" _Enough!_ "

Foxshadow looked up at Bluestar and was grateful to the queen for her composure. The brown-red-and-white she-cat felt like she was losing her mind. Saying it aloud had merely confirmed the theory which had floated around in her head for two days.

 _Brokenstar was alive._

Deadstar spoke, his voice clam and commanding. "Brokenstar may be alive somewhere else beyond our borders, but there is no way he can return here without guidance." He looked at Foxshadow for confirmation.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow instantly. "Brokenstar would have been very disoriented after he woke up, with no idea of where he is or how to return here. He is not familiar with the flow of the river nor it's path, and would not be able to return here without figuring that out first."

"What about us finding him?" growled Blackfoot.

"That," meowed Foxshadow, relief making her paws relax, "is easy. I have traveled up and down that river before, back when I was a loner." _And all this had been a dream_ _I could explore_ _freely_ , she silently added. "The river's strongest current is the one that leads you around the twolegplace, but you can reach the gorge through the twolegplace. It is only a quarter moon's travel that way."

Blackfoot nodded. "Then DarkClan will follow him and end him."

Stonestar's eyes flashed. "That would be the noble thing to do. If you do this, you will have made your Clan worthy of the warrior code." He dipped his head to Blackfoot, as if the DarkClan leader was his equal. Blackfoot returned the gesture.

"Before you go," meowed Bluestar. "Perhaps you should hear all our announcements and wait until your medicine cat apprentice is fully trained."

Blackfoot glanced at Bluestar and gave her a respectful bow of his head. "May I go first?"

"Of course," meowed Bluestar, dipping her own head.

As Stonestar stepped back, the DarkClan leader stepped forward. "DarkClan has four new warriors and eight new apprentices, including Rosepaw. Since they were all made apprentices and warriors on the same day, they were unable to join us at this time."

Foxshadow glanced towards the three DarkClan apprentices and wondered how many cats must be in DarkClan if they can handle eight apprentices. Their Clan couldn't possibly be almost as big as ThunderClan, not by any stretch.

 _Not unless their last litter had been made apprentices and then warriors too early,_ she thought, frowning.

"That is all," Blackfoot meowed before stepping back.

Nightstar, Deadstar and Bluestar had less abnormal news than this. The forest was clear and there was still no sign of Tigerclaw anywhere. Foxshadow pushed down the shiver that went up her spine at the thought of him wandering around somewhere on ThunderClan territory.

 _If Darkpaw knew his mentor was still out there, would he try and find him and tell him all ThunderClan's secrets?_

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!  
**


	52. Rising Storm pt 7

**A/N: Last chapter, Foxshadow is proving herself to be quite manipulative. That wasn't my intention but it seems to be the end result. Whoops.  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: It's Foxshadow's guess but the location of SkyClan is still largely unknown and she could be wrong. But since Brokenstar is most likely alive, Foxshadow needed to convince DarkClan to go find him.  
**

 **AnonChan1: Heyo! No embarrassment here. (A) Foxshadow is miserable right now. (B) Foxshadow's cracking under the guilty of what she almost did... (C) Well, he's being punished so naturally that means he won't be going to the Gathering. (D) Hm. The voice could be a Voice of the Dead or just their conscience speaking. (E) Yes, Foxshadow is trying to get DarkClan to go to SkyClan...  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Did they cancel season six?  
**

 **Snowfall: (1) I love how you're so excited for the FLOOF! (2) Hehe.  
**

 **lemon: (1) That was a big help, thank you! If you see anymore let me know. (2) Inanimate Insanity. I'll try and remember the name of that web series for the future when I have more time.  
**

 **fdquesada: A new reviewer! Heeeyyy! :) (1) Nah, I think Foxshadow used to agree with you on that, but she doesn't have the stomach for it anymore. (2) Also, yup! (3) DarkClan may not get a spot at Fourtrees, but they might get one at the Lakes.  
**

 **Guest: Hello, Anon! You will have to wait and see!  
**

 **FalconwingTheWarrior: Glad to see you again! Also, you should totally mention any minor mistakes you think I've made! I can't improve if I don't know if there are problems I need to work on!  
**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: (Ch46) Still not seen it. (Ch51) Crazy good?  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: (Ch50) (A) Darkpaw thinks Foxshadow left him to die... and... (B) It was the only option she had left that she hadn't tried yet. (C) No, she doesn't. (D) I don't know if they are at that point yet, but it would probably help them. (Ch51) How do you mean by "intertextuality"?  
**

* * *

A warm breeze rippled through the trees, causing the branches to scrape together. Leaves had started to grow back onto the trees, but they still looked cold and skeletal high above.

With the thyme in his mouth tasting bitter, Darkpaw scanned the high branches, taking advantage of the lack of green to look for a good squirrel or bird he could kill. His ears swiveled, listening for the tiny noises of mice and voles. He walked back to camp with a purposeful slowness and alertness, itching to sink his claws into flesh.

When a black bankvole darted out in front of him, he immediately dropped the bundle of herbs and bolted after it. Leaves and herbs flew everywhere as the vole shot left and then right, before he slammed his claws down on empty air. With an enraged hiss, he whipped around and head back to the herbs, but halted at the sight of the plants scattered everywhere. By the time he had bundled them all together, he knew from how it fit in his mouth that it was much smaller than when he had started out.

 _This is impossible!_ he raged, snarling around the herbs. It felt like the bundle was getting smaller in his mouth, drool dripping down his mouth. He began to pad a little faster back to camp, hoping that they weren't completely unsalvagable. The thought of being talked down to by the old fleabag made him furious. _How am I supposed to hunt and do my chores?_ he groused to himself, thoughts turning to his mentor. _This is all Foxshadow's fault!_

He slammed his paw down on some twigs and a thrush burst out of the bushes, letting out a startled cry before flapping towards the high branches. An angry yowl echoed after it as a massive she-cat landed where it had been a second before, turning her furious sun-gold gaze on Darkpaw. They stared at each other, mentor and apprentice, as the forest grew quiet once more.

Suddenly realizing what had happened, Darkpaw let a smug grin spread across his face as he dropped his bundle. "Did I interrupt your catch?"

Foxshadow narrowed her eyes at him and straightened. She did not look half as irritated as Darkpaw would have liked, and his grin twisted into a scowl. She stared at him. "You haven't changed."

The black tabby thought he heard sadness in her mew and his scowl disappeared in his confusion. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

She looked away and upwards towards a gap in the branches where the thrush had disappeared. "I doubt Yellowfang will be happy to see her herbs shredded like that. You should be more careful about how you carry them. It would probably help if you tucked a bundle underneath your chin."

Darkpaw's confusion only grew, as well as his disappointment. "You aren't going to scold me for interrupting your hunt?"

Foxshadow looked him in the eye. "You should get back to work." She turned and padded away.

His confusion quickly bled away to anger as Foxshadow disappeared. He kicked the twig he had stepped on.

"Foxshadow?" mewed a second tom. "What was that noise?"

Darkpaw ducked his head and, realizing it wasn't Dustpelt, crouched down to pad closer to the two.

"Darkpaw scared off my thrush," Foxshadow meowed, before changing the subject. "I thought you were hunting near the Great Sycamore."

"I guess I strayed a bit too far south while looking for that rabbit," Ravenfeather meowed. "What did you say to Darkpaw?"

"Nothing interesting. Why do you ask?"

The black tom hesitated. "I have seen him around the camp. He's very quiet."

"That's good."

"But whenever you around, he seems a bit... nervous."

"Not surprising. I am the deputy. Most young cats don't know how to act around me."

"That isn't it. He almost seems afraid of you."

The fox-colored she-cat twitched her ears anxiously at Ravenfeather. "So, you've noticed it then."

"It reminds me too much of my own time as an apprentice," the warrior meowed. "I'm concerned."

"I don't doubt it." Foxshadow's voice had become hard. "What are you getting at?"

Ravenfeather twitched. "W-well, I don't want to accuse you of anything, but-but I have concerns, Foxshadow."

"I am not going to kill him, Ravenfeather." Foxshadow's voice was edged in defeat. "I am not Tigerclaw."

"I know you aren't," Ravenfeather meowed, regretful. "I didn't mean to insinuate you were. I'm sorry."

"You did mean it that way," Foxshadow half-growled. "Is this why you wanted to go hunting with me and Dustpelt? I just wanted to hunt with him alone!"

Foxshadow padded off, tail twitching angrily. Ravenfeather called out to her but didn't follow and, after a long moment, rose to his paws and head back towards the Great Sycamore. With both of them gone, Darkpaw let out a breath and backed up out of the bushes. Relieved he wasn't caught, Darkpaw immediately grew angry.

"I am nothing like that sniveling coward!" he seethed before going quiet, ears swiveling towards the bushes for sounds of the warriors' return. His voice grew quiet as he quietly sneered. "That fox-hearted she-cat is nothing like Tigerclaw."

Darkpaw suddenly felt a wave of encouragement; he had survived Tigerclaw's training and he'd survive Foxshadow's training as well. Straightening, he padded back to camp with his head held high. His paws took him to the medicine cat den and he halted, realizing that he'd forgotten his herbs.

"Darkstripe!" meowed Mistleleaf, startling Darkpaw. Her bright eyes grew disappointed. "Didn't you find any herbs?"

Darkpaw shifted. "No, I couldn't find any." He looked at his paws for a heartbeat before forcing himself to look Mistleleaf in the eye. "They must have been shredded by a fox or something."

The white she-cat flattened her ears. "Oh, okay. I'll tell Yellowfang."

He felt a wave of fear and irritation and snapped. "You're a full medicine cat now, why do you need to tell the old fleabag?"

Mistleleaf blinked. "Because she needs to tell Bluestar."

" _You_ can tell Bluestar," Darkpaw insisted. "Yellowfang doesn't need to know anything."

"But she's the senior medicine cat," Mistleleaf pointed out. "She could know who destroyed the herbs."

Darkpaw sneered. "Then being a medicine cat is mousebrained. _You're_ mousebrained. That ShadowClan she-cat doesn't need to be involved in all of our business. We can deal with it ourselves." The thought of the dark gray queen pawing through the carefully picked plants and realizing that it wasn't shredded made Darkpaw fell a tiny shred of fear, of guilt, but he quickly shoved it aside. "I can't believe I'm fetching herbs for you mousebrains! I should be doing warrior duties and training like a real apprentice, not as a soft-hearted medicine cat!"

Darkpaw glared at his sister, but the white she-cat simply blinked at him. She lifted her head. "A warrior must be obedient, Darkstripe."

Darkpaw stared at her. "You knew?"

"A warrior must be obedient," Mistleleaf repeated.

"You knew who I was and you didn't say anything!?" Darkpaw half-screeched, clawing the ground in fury. His eyes widened in realization. "You told Foxshadow, didn't you? That's how she knew!"

"Darkpaw," growled a young dark brown tabby tom who padded out of the den, his amber eyes flashing. "You should be more respectful towards the medicine cats."

The black tabby stared at Bramblepaw. "You heard everything?" he asked, heart pounding with fright.

Bramblepaw sat down. "Everyone can hear your screeching. You shouldn't talk to a medicine cat like that, Darkpaw."

Relieved, Darkpaw sneered. "Medicine cats are mousebrained! Why should anyone treat them with respect?"

Tigerclaw's son narrowed his eyes angrily and padded towards him, practically hissing in fury. "Medicine cats can save your life, Darkpaw."

It sounded so simple. Darkpaw felt like clawing the tom's eyes out. _No medicine cat saved my life!_ he seethed. _Where were they when I was drowning at the bottom of a ditch, running from rats?_

Bramblepaw brushed passed him, jarring Darkpaw from his thoughts. Darkpaw whipped around, hissing before stopping. He watched with growing horror as Bramblepaw padded right up to Foxshadow, who looked almost happy standing next to Dustpelt in the camp entrance. Darkpaw could practically see her mood souring as Bramblepaw spoke and he felt every hair stand on end as Foxshadow looked at him. Then the deputy began padding towards him. Darkpaw felt his heart start to pound faster.

"Darkpaw, I am very disappointed in you," Foxshadow meowed and Darkpaw had the intense feeling that she wasn't just referring to his yelling. "How many chores do I have to give you in order for you to learn your lesson?" Foxshadow didn't even wait for his response. "You will never become a warrior if you keep disrespecting your Clanmates and refusing to follow orders." Foxshadow glanced around. "Did you at least bring Mistleleaf the herbs you had?"

A very palpable silence answered Foxshadow. Mistleleaf padded forward. "Darkstripe didn't bring any herbs."

"His name is Darkpaw. His father was Darkstripe," Foxshadow corrected absently, before looking at Darkpaw. "Even shredded herbs are better than no herbs at all, Darkpaw. As punishment, you will sleep in the nursery and take over all the other apprentice's chores. I will make sure all the mentors know so their apprentices won't end up doing your work for you."

As the deputy padded away, Darkpaw rounded on Bramblepaw. "How could you tell on me like that?"

Bramblepaw bristled. "How could I not? You're despicable, Darkpaw. You make the apprentices do all your chores for you by lying to them and you disrespect everyone with your mousebrained attitude."

Darkpaw felt betrayed. "How can you expect me to respect a Clan that doesn't respect me?" he growled. "Tigerclaw would have respected me."

"Tigerclaw is a murderer and a traitor," meowed Bramblepaw, tone edged with emotion.

"Tigerclaw was brave and loyal," Darkpaw yowled. "He was the best warrior in ThunderClan! He's your father!"

Bramblepaw jerked away. "Maybe so, but I never knew him."

"Then how do you know he really was a murderer and a traitor?" Darkpaw clawed the ground. "How can you judge him when you never knew him?"

"Because he isn't here!" Bramblepaw practically hissed at him. "He never visited when he _was_ here. I never saw him or knew him, except from what everyone else told me. If he even cared about me, he would have said something while I was a kit and he was still here. I was old enough to understand then."

Darkpaw heard the pain in Bramblepaw's voice and hissed. "Your father was the best warrior in ThunderClan."

Bramblepaw growled and shoved his nose into Darkpaw's face. "How can _you_ know that when you never even met him?"

The black tabby opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. "My father knew him," Darkpaw meowed defensively. It sounded weak, even to his own ears.

"Your father died before you were even born," Bramblepaw responded. "You've never even met him. How would you even know who he is?"

Darkpaw fell silent, stung. Before Bramblepaw could say anything else, Darkpaw turned away and padded away towards the apprentice's den. When he stepped inside the den, a pale flank pressed up against his side.

"I'm sorry about my brother," meowed Tawnypaw quietly. "I don't understand what got into him."

Darkpaw said nothing and pressed back into her warmth, his thoughts drifting back into his memories, back when another she-cat had pressed into his sides, a she-cat who had died giving birth to his kits. But Tawnypaw didn't smell like Frostfur. The black tabby shook himself. "Do you like Tigerclaw?"

The tortoiseshell shrugged. "I never met him. I don't even know what he looks like."

"He looks like Bramblepaw, but scarred across his nose and flank. He was brave and noble, strong and powerful," meowed Darkpaw. "He was loyal to ThunderClan and wanted to bring it to greater glory. We would have had more territory than all the Clans, more prey than we could eat, and we would have been the strongest Clan ever." Invigorated by his own speech, he pulled away and padded to his nest. "Tigerclaw thought Bluestar was a terrible leader. He told me once that Bluestar killed her own kits to become deputy of ThunderClan. She would always take the apprentices to the Moonstone even though it made no sense, until recently. And she always leaves organizing and participating in patrols to her deputy."

"She does sound like a terrible leader," meowed Tawnypaw, uncertain. "But it's treasonous to talk like that."

Darkpaw fell silent.

Someone shifted in the back of the den. "Bluestar _is_ pretty useless."

The two cats turned to the third in surprise. Ashpaw stood up and padded towards them, coat smooth. "She gave RiverClan back Sunningrocks, even though her own deputy had fought for it."

They absorbed this statement quietly. Darkpaw gestured for Ashpaw to join their group.

"What did you expect from a leader," meowed Darkpaw, eyes flashing, "who accepts kittypets into the Clan?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!  
**

 **Also, if you see any mistakes, don't be afraid to mention them! I will try to post a chapter tomorrow.**


	53. Rising Storm pt 8

**A/N: This chapter was the hardest to write. I had to muscle through it. Get her done. And whatnot. This is also the shortest chapter ever, at 1.5k. Hopefully the next chapter will be 5x longer.  
**

 **fdquesada: Yup, he's the troublemaker of the Clan and they are slowly chosing Foxy's side over him. It's a sad, sad world. (Also, Ashpaw is totally looking for trouble.)  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: They must have taken them down from Netflix or their search engine just sucks. I once tried looking for the latest Godzilla movie on Netflix and I got every movie EXCEPT Godzilla.  
**

 **Vinejay - Vinewings of Airclan: You are going to love the twist. :)  
**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Darkpaw blames Foxy for everything. (2) Talking? What is that? XD (3) *evil laughter*  
**

 **lemon: Thank you! I hope there aren't any mistakes this time, but I am so fed up with this chapter that I kinda don't care anymore...  
**

 **YumiKnowsBest: We have until chapter 60-62, so...  
**

 **Snowfall: (1) The hatred for Darkpaw is real and well deserved. (2) Darkpaw: HE SUCKS TOO! (2.5) Jayfeather: I can't see. Or read. D (3) Darkpaw is... Darkpaw.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: Ah, I thought so. I've done a little bit of that, but with movies and games, never books. Which is weird to me.  
**

 **FalconwingTheWarrior: Hi! I almost missed your response because I was literally about to post this. I'm curious why you're sad for Darkstripe, though.**

* * *

Foxshadow followed Dustpelt into a small clearing. Since Ravenfeather had interjected into their hunting patrol a week ago, Foxshadow had become even more aware of the looks and murmurs of the Clan. Talk of her relationship with her apprentice had died down after Darkpaw's outburst, but she wanted to be aware of the moment when the Clan started to doubt her mentoring skills again. If the Clan didn't think she could handle mentoring Darkpaw, they would start to question whether she had what it took to be deputy and then leader after that. Until Fireheart was ready, Foxshadow needed to have the Clan's full respect.

Afterwards, though, Foxshadow couldn't have cared less. She would have moved into the nursery and been done with the deputyship forever. The idea of laying around, waiting for her kits to be born, brought back the feeling of joy that Darkpaw's presence chased away from her. She couldn't for the day when she told Dustpelt she was ready.

"You seem... different."

Foxshadow looked up at Dustpelt, the warmth in her chest fading as reality hit. "Well, I've been busy dealing with Darkpaw."

"I saw you drag him to the nursery last night," Dustpelt meowed. He shook his head in disapproval. "His attitude is disgusting."

"I've tried everything I could to get him to stop that, but he's stubborn."

Dustpelt looked disgruntled. "He's not good for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Dustpelt meowed, gesturing helplessly with a paw, unable to explain it, "you never did this with Brackenpaw. It's unhealthy."

"Brackenpaw is different. I could trust Brackenpaw to obey me even if I let him do whatever he wanted." Foxshadow shook herself. "Darkpaw is completely disobedient."

"I noticed," meowed Dustpelt, glancing away. A thought occurred to him and he looked hopefully back at her. "Why not give him to me?"

Foxshadow grew silent and shook her head. It would be impossible to explain everything about Darkpaw to Dustpelt, even if he wasn't so stubborn. Without that knowledge, Dustpelt wouldn't be able to treat Darkpaw as anything other than a normal apprentice. Darkpaw deserved to be treated different; he was a special case and needed someone to understand why he needed special treatment. But, if all else failed, perhaps Dustpelt was the only solution. "No, I'm not ready to give up on him. Not yet. I just need more time. Another moon at least. If he hasn't changed by then, I'll give him to you." She sighed. "The whole Clan is going to know how much I fail. I will have to step down from my position after that."

The dark warrior grew quiet and pressed hard into her flank. Foxshadow threw her head over Dustpelt's shoulders. They twined their tails, enjoying each other's company while they could, away from the hustle and bustle of the camp.

Dustpelt touched her black ear and stood up. "We should try to catch something."

With a nod, she rose to her paws and shook herself. "Can you catch me a squirrel?"

"I will," meowed Dustpelt before letting out a deep purr and licking her cheek. "You just focus on finding me a thrush."

* * *

The deputy of ThunderClan took one look at Darkpaw's friends, Tawnypaw and Ashpaw, with their heads bent secretively and knew instinctively that things had only gotten worse while she was away.

Foxshadow snorted through her nose, her mouth full of small birds, as she watched Tawnypaw grooming Darkpaw like they were mates. Dustpelt had a squirrel, mouse and vole dangling from his jaws, but it didn't stop the growl from rising in his throat. They padded side-by-side to the freshkill pile.

"What's he doing?" Dustpelt asked, practically hissing. "He's supposed to be doing chores!"

The deputy couldn't help but agree with him, but she gave an angry sigh. "Ignore him. If he doesn't care, then I guess neither should I." Her gaze drifted across the clearing: under the Highrock, the golden-brown tabby toms, Beepaw and Eaglepaw, were flirting with Frostpaw, who despite looking pleased was pretending to ignore them; Rainpaw, Sootpaw and Icepaw were gathered outside the nursery's den and talking, absently passing a moss ball between them as Brindleface's three-moon-old litter gave chase, shrieking in delight; Bramblepaw, Cloudpaw and Fernpaw were gathered together outside the elder's den, occasionally casting angry, annoyed or curious glances at the final group which had taken over the apprentice's stump. "But I think its high time the other apprentices were given their assessments."

Dustpelt nodded. "I'll make sure Darkpaw is back to doing his chores."

As the two split up, Foxshadow made her way to Bluestar's den and entered through the lichen canopy. She was glad to find Bluestar alone, with Fireheart nowhere in sight.

"Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow, dipping her head. "I think it's time that the apprentices have their first assessment."

"All of them?" asked Bluestar. "I was not aware Darkpaw was doing anything other than chores for the last moon."

"Everyone except Darkpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "He has not proven himself worthy of an assessment."

The blue-gray queen blinked. "Do you think you might be punishing him too much?"

Foxshadow blinked, having expected Bluestar to say "too harshly". "What do you mean?"

"Darkpaw has been doing nothing but punishments since his apprenticeship. He has never had a chance to be an normal apprentice under you."

Feeling like Bluestar had hit the nail on the head, Foxshadow shifted. "Do you think I should not exclude him from the assessment? I do not want to reward him for good behavior, Bluestar."

"Yes, but assessments are not a reward, they are a normal part of being an apprentice." Bluestar blinked. "Of course, if you do not think he is ready for an assessment, then you have the right as his mentor to exclude him from it."

"Oh, I think he is ready. He has a natural skill that far surpasses his fellow apprentices. I just want him to actually work towards a goal and be obedient, instead of what he is now."

Bluestar's ears twitched. "You speak highly of him and yet you punish him constantly?"

"It is a complicated issue, Bluestar." Foxshadow breathed out sharply through her nose and decided to concede. "But I understand what you are saying. Perhaps I should make being treated as a normal apprentice a reward for his obedience. He will have until the last assessment day to prove he can do all his chores correctly and without complaint, and then I will decide whether he is ready to be treated like a normal apprentice."

Bluestar dipped her head. "I believe that is a wise decision."

"Good," meowed Foxshadow, relieved that at least Bluestar's trust in her wasn't going to fall apart over this. "I will make the announcement that Goldenflower's litter are going to be assessed tomorrow. Whitestorm's kits will be assessed the day afterwards, then Frostfur's kits sans Darkpaw and with Cloudpaw. The day after that, I will have Darkpaw assessed, if he is ready for it. I will be assigning Fireheart to oversee the first assessment, Brackenfur to the second, and Sandstorm to the third, with Dustpelt overseeing the last."

Bluestar looked unsure. "You do not want him assessed with his siblings?"

"No, I don't want them to feel like they have to hunt less just to make him feel or look better."

The blue queen nodded. "Good. I will announce that the assessments will be made throughout the next four days. I will leave it up to you to tell their mentors."

"Thank you, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow with a respectful dip of her head.

When she exited Bluestar's den, she walked straight towards Darkpaw without even looking for the four warriors. She gestured with her tail for Tawnypaw and Ashpaw to leave so she could speak with Darkpaw privately, and watched them slink reluctantly just out of hearing range. Darkpaw shifted uncomfortably but was quiet.

"For the next four days, all the apprentices are going to be assessed," meowed Foxshadow. "You have until then to convince me you're ready to be treated like a normal apprentice."

"I've _always_ been ready," Darkpaw practically growled.

Foxshadow's eyes narrowed and she stared at Darkpaw until he shifted uncomfortably on his paws. "This means that you must perform all the chores perfectly, without help and without complaints until your assessment day. I don't want to hear how you shredded the herbs or someone else is doing chores that have been assigned to you. This is your _last_ chance, Darkpaw. There won't be a next time."

Darkpaw bristled, fur fluffed out, but he said nothing. He raised his head, pointed his nose up, and looked down his nose at Foxshadow. "It will be easy."

* * *

 **A/N: It's a shame that -wood isn't a suffix or prefix in Warrior Cats. Imagine the names you can use for that. Twigwood, Branchwood, Ashwood, Maplewood, Birchwood...Woodheart, Woodtail... ok, nvm.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the long wait! ...and for a very short chapter, too. T^T... Blame school for that. I'm gonna try to post something else Thursday but I'm pretty busy this week so it might be Saturday.  
**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**


	54. Rising Storm pt 9

**A/N: If -wood was a suffix, an OC of mine would be a character named Hollywood. She probably be some kind of black tortoiseshell.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Netflix needs to get their stuff together. :/  
**

 **Snowfall: (1) Lol, you probably won't! (2.5) Jayfeather: *cuffs you* I. Can't. Read! Me: Then how are you typing? Jay: *blank stare* (3) css? out of your mind? (4) Who says that he's going to wait until then? XD (5) That's the plan!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Very busy and having trouble finishing this story. I hate endings. (A) Oh, Dustpelt would not! It's against the warrior code to kill! (B) Aw, that's sweet of you. I'm sure she'd appreciate the sentiment. (C) It's in his nature. (D) Hm. He could use it to his advantage if he was paying attention. I think his chores and Foxshadow are the only things on his mind, mostly the former, and his medicine cat chores keep him away from the camp. (E) Heh. (F) His head is so far up his own... you get my point. xD He's insufferable.  
**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: LOL indeed. Would make some interesting names and innuendos, though.  
**

 **Amberpetal: Glad you agree!  
**

 **Lemon: Thank goodness for that! (1) Spookywood is a great name! I love it. Especially Spooky. It's a great ex-BloodClan name. (2) Ah the pains of roleplay. I remember them all too well. Some characters just had that chemistry and others just didn't. It happens. (3) Thank you so much!  
**

 **Catlover49: *w* Aw thanks! (4) Aww, it's probably not the best. Try anything by Prin Pardus. She's awesome!  
**

* * *

It was not as easy as Darkpaw thought. When Foxshadow left him alone, Tawnypaw and Ashpaw quickly gathered around to hear the news.

"What did she say?" Ashpaw looked at him curiously.

Tawnypaw tail-tip flicked nervously. "Is she sending you to Snakerocks again?"

Darkpaw hesitated and glanced around. His fur bristled when he noticed Bramblepaw was still sending them glares and turned his back on him to hide the head shake he gave the others. His voice shook with real fear. "She said I had four days to start being obedient or... she'd kill me."

"What!?" meowed Tawnypaw, shocked. "That isn't right! It's against the warrior code to kill! She wouldn't!"

Ashpaw twitched his whiskers knowingly and shook his head sadly. "What can you expect from a former rogue?"

With a shocked gasp, Tawnypaw looked at Foxshadow as if seeing the deputy for the first time.

Feeling grateful to Ashpaw, Darkpaw nodded sullenly and looked down at his paws. "It's true. Foxshadow hates me."

"But why?" asked Tawnypaw. "Why does she hate you?"

Darkpaw sighed. "I look like my father, and she hates my father." He paused, a brilliant idea coming to his mind. "She would talk about him all the time, what he was like and why I'm so much like him."

Tawnypaw blinked sympathetic and Darkpaw could almost feel a rush of triumph.

"Is that why you know so much about your dad?" asked Ashpaw, earning a sharp glare from Darkpaw. "What?"

"Foxshadow is trying to kill me," meowed Darkpaw. "I'm sure this is just another way to get me killed."

Tawnypaw looked into the distant. "You think she framed my father?"

Darkpaw growled. For a moment, he wished that she didn't think about Tigerclaw. He scolded himself a heartbeat later. "How else can you explain his banishment when he was the best warrior in the Clan?"

Ashpaw shifted. "I heard Tigerclaw killed the deputy before him."

"It was a lie!" Darkpaw glared at Ashpaw until the spotted tom shifted uncomfortably and looked down at his paws. "What did Tigerclaw ever do except try to make ThunderClan stronger?"

"I want to hear about the trial," meowed Tawnypaw, brows furrowed in doubt.

Darkpaw clawed the ground. "You can do that," he gritted out. "I have chores, and I'll want to get some sleep."

"Good luck," Tawnypaw meowed absently, which only served to make Darkpaw more furious. He didn't even glance back as he padded away.

Darkpaw entered the medicine cats den, sighing loudly before catching himself. He eyed the dark gray mass crouching at the entrance with weary contempt, wondering if Yellowfang knew what Foxshadow had told him.

"Do you need me to fetch anything?" Darkpaw meowed in a tone he hoped was casual.

The old she-cat narrowed her eyes in suspicion before rasping, "Fetch us some more catnip."

Darkpaw almost sneered. "It's not-" He caught himself; he could almost hear Foxshadow's warning. Even though he thought it was mousebrained to prepare for greencough long after leaf-bare had passed and wanted desperately to call Yellowfang out on it, Darkpaw didn't want to sound like he was complaining. "Okay."

Yellowfang's eyes widened as Darkpaw padded out of the den. Darkpaw couldn't help but feel smug at Yellowfang's shocked look, glad that he managed to surprise the old fleabag. It made being polite more enjoyable. He felt elated. _This is going to be easy_ , he told himself, excitement speeding his paws. _I can even hunt along the way!_

The black tabby tom raced towards Tallpines and twolegplace and to the spot he knew would have catnip, the delicious smelling herb was unmistakable. He plucked as many leaves as he could carry and began to make his way back at a much slower pace, stalking with his ears turned and eyes peeled for prey. The smell of the herbs assaulted his nose and he felt the herbs getting soggier and soggier. Eventually, he had to stop just to put the bundle of herbs down, and he glared down at the leaves as if they offended him. The memory of shredded herbs flying everywhere as he tried to chase down a squirrel flashed through his mind and he decided to leave it there as he hunted.

Without the herbs clogging his sense of smell, Darkpaw sucked in the scent of the forest and prey and felt his mind and muscles come alive. He crouched and forced his under-used muscles into the correct stance as he stalked through the undergrowth, despite the fact that he felt weird and strange in the crouch. He was in his element.

Time seemed to pass quickly as Darkpaw began sneaking through the undergrowth. He smelled a squirrel right away and padded carefully towards it, hiding in the shadows. The squirrel was oblivious, slowly eating a green bud of a nut. Darkpaw launched himself after it and slammed his paws down, breaking it's back. He buried it under a twisted tree root and moved on.

He found a thrush, a mouse and a vole next, all of which he strategically buried around. Satisfied with his success, he made his way back to where he had stashed the herbs, but slowed at a familiar smell. It was faded slightly, which meant the tom was long gone. He looked for the herbs, but the catnip was gone. A few bits were scattered across the ground, the stench of the loner everywhere.

"No!" he yowled, heart climbing into his throat. His gaze swept the forest, but Tigerclaw was nowhere to be found. For a heartbeat, he imagined telling Tigerclaw who he really was and the tom accepting him back as one of his clique. Together, they could end Foxshadow once and for all. The thought of Foxshadow lying slain at his paws made him shudder in glee.

But now, Darkpaw would have to go back and fetch more before he could return to camp, and he wouldn't have time to collect his prey afterwards. He swayed, torn. He remembered Foxshadow's warning and decided that looking like he had done his chores was better than bringing back prey. He could do that tomorrow.

His muscles ached when he returned back to camp at dusk, and he padded tiredly into the medicine cat den. Darkpaw was glad that Yellowfang was already asleep. Her odd-eyed apprentice stared off into the darkness, ears twitching to sounds Darkpaw could not hear. When he dropped the catnip at her paws, she blinked at him as if noticing him for the first time and sniffed the pile.

"Thanks, Darkpaw," she meowed. "Patchpelt hasn't been walking as well as he used to."

The black tabby was glad she hadn't called him "Darkstripe". It meant Mistleleaf wouldn't accidentally spill his secret to anyone else. With an acknowledging flick of his ear, he turned away and padded towards the apprentices den to settle in his nest. When he closed his eyes, a different kind of darkness settled around him, suffocating him.

 _"This is your_ last _chance, Darkstripe."_

A familiar odor surrounded him, choking him, drowning him, and he tried to force open his eyes to see but only saw darkness. He heard the distant sounds of a great rushing river, but it sounded too thick, too hollow when beating against the rocks, to be water on stone. It sounded sickeningly familiar and he was reminded of the ditch water washing over a pile of twoleg trash as rats poured down to eat him.

He opened his mouth to cry out for help, but his voice refused to obey him. " _...Why is it always dark here? Where is the moon?...I thought we would be hunting across the sky with our warrior ancestors, and watching over our Clanmates._ "

 _"You've been here before_ ," meowed a strangely familiar voice, the one that had been haunting him for a while. A calico she-cat seemed to materialize from the darkness, her face mostly black and the white of her eyes as black as the world around them. " _You've seen all this before."_

He stepped towards the she-cat and bones cracked under his paws as his heart climbed into his throat. He opened his mouth to say something, but his voice did not obey him. _" _You can't leave this forest. I know; I've tried."  
__

" _You have a second chance at life, Darkstripe,_ " meowed the she-cat. " _Use it to destroy the cat responsible for your fate! Kill Foxshadow!"_

Darkpaw wanted to ask her "Who are you?" but instead he said " _ _But however far I walk, the trees never end, and there's no light anywhere._ "_

The she-cat's amber eyes flashed. " _Kill Foxshadow. Do what even Tigerclaw himself can't do and I promise you you will get everything you deserve!_ "

Then, the darkness swallowed him whole once more and he suddenly found himself falling into a dark pit. The walls of a massive gorge rushed passed him. He heard the sharp scream of a she-cat, the loud barking of many dogs high above, before he landed in a river of warm blood. He opened his mouth to scream but the blood rushed in, drowning him, and he kicked feebly through the rushing current, tumbling. Many heartbeats passed as he was trapped under the current, before a freak wave sent him spinning for the surface and he sucked in air. A white she-cat was crouching on the banks, watching him with wide eyes.

Darkstripe opened his mouth to yowl. " _Frostfur!_ "

 _"The face of darkness shall bathe the forest in blood!"_ yowled Frostfur. For a heartbeat, she looked like a she-cat much younger than herself. Then Darkstripe was swept away, rolling back under the waves.

Foxshadow's voice, sharp and powerful, cut through the roar of the river. Her face was pitch black, but her eyes were like twin suns eclipsed by small white moons. " _There won't be a next time!_ "

With a jolt, he awoke. The apprentice's den was warm and dark, and the camp outside was washed in the warm golden light of the sun. He sucked in a breath of clean fresh air, gathering his wits and thoughts. He could smell the coppery tang of blood, sharp and powerful, and felt Tawnypaw, asleep and curled up in the nest beside him. He licked his lips, wet with blood, and realized that he had bit his tongue.

Disconcerted, he rose to his paws and padded out of the apprentice's den, hoping a mouse would cure his clouded mind. He never had dreams like that before. It was a nightmare. Frostfur flashed through his mind and he shuddered. She looked too much like her daughters, Frostpaw and Icepaw. It it wasn't for her eyes... He shook himself. He wasn't a medicine cat so his dreams were just normal. A normal nightmare.

He looked over the freshkill and noticed the pile of rabbits. Suddenly angry, he grabbed a bird carcass and ripped into it, hoping to busy himself with plucking the feathers as his thoughts turned to the prey he had left in the forest. As the sun began to rise over the forest, he rose to go about doing his chores.

Almost as if summoned to worsen his day, Snowpaw padded out of the apprentices den and rushed up to him. "Hey, Darkpaw!" he meowed cheerfully. "I heard about the assessment! I hope you're going to be coming with us."

Darkpaw sat down, ears flicking in annoyance. "I doubt I'll be assessed," he meowed. "Foxshadow doesn't like me."

"Oh, don't be like that!" Snowpaw looked concerned. "Of course she likes you! Why would she make you her apprentice if she didn't?"

Darkpaw flattened his ears.

"So, has she taught you any secret fighting moves?"

"No," meowed Darkpaw, a flicker of regret pulsing through his fur. "Not that she even _has_ any secret fighting moves."

"What? Of course she does!" meowed Snowpaw. "She defeated killed a fox all by herself! She came up with the idea of hunting rabbits at Lion's Trap!" He bounced on his paws. "I can't wait for your assessment! You'll probably catch the most amount of prey!"

"I won't be having an assessment," argued Darkpaw, "not unless I get all my chores done properly."

"Then get them done!" meowed Snowpaw. "They'll probably make you a warrior right after if you do the assessment."

Darkpaw flicked his ears thoughtfully. Maybe Snowpaw wasn't as much of an idiot as he originally thought. "Yeah, you're right. It'll be easy, anyway. We only have one elder and one queen, on top of collecting herbs."

 _If Foxshadow keeps her promise,_ a voice hissed in his ears. Darkpaw felt his blood freeze. It was the tortoiseshell's!

Snowpaw grinned, looking pleased. "That's right!"

Darkpaw nodded. "I have chores to do."

With an excited bounce, Snowpaw touched him with his nose. "Okay! I'll see you later. If Foxshadow shows you a special move, don't forget to show me!"

Darkpaw paused, suddenly uncomfortable. He knew Foxshadow would never teach him anything, and he felt guilt over it. After all, Tigerclaw never showed him how to defeat a fox or how to catch four rabbits in one hunting patrol. His gaze fell on the freshkill pile and he rose to his paws.

 _I've had my hunting practice_ , he told himself. _I'll feed the queens and elders, then fetch those pieces of prey now and come back to do the medicine cat chores._

He padded toward the freshkill pile and selected a squirrel for Brindleface and a large vole for Patchpelt. He hoped the large prey would ensure he didn't have to revisit them later that day. He dropped them off quickly and raced out of the dens before they could offer a thank you.

While Fireheart was gathering together all of Tigerclaw's kits in the center of camp for their assessment, and Darkpaw made his way towards the camp entrance. No one stopped him, perhaps because he always left for his medicine cat chores. He raced up the ravine and rushed towards Tallpines, slowing only when he neared the places where he had buried his last piece of prey and his heart stopped. Under the twisted root was an empty hole. The faint scent of Tigerclaw was all over it.

Stung that his former mentor would be source of his current woe, Darkpaw put his nose to the ground to follow the faded scent, hoping to see where Tigerclaw had taken the piece of prey. A sharp wind blew south through the pine trees, carrying the stench of rabbit carcasses. Remembering Foxshadow's hunting parties, Darkpaw hesitated to turn from Tigerclaw's scent and decided that it was better to investigate the smell. As he traveled further south and closer, the stench became stronger.

In the distance, a dog began to bark. Another dog began barking, then another, until the whole forest grew louder and louder with the noise. The stench of rabbits grew stronger. Darkpaw could already hear the sound of a mighty blood river washing over a field of bones. He let out a terrified wail and bolted up the nearest tree, slamming face-first into the crook of a branch.

Dogs barked beneath him. Rabbits pounded away into an invisible warren. Dogs whined and whimpered. Darkpaw stared down at them, eyes wide and breathless. Big dogs, small dogs, medium dogs, dogs of all color, swarmed around his tree, sniffing around eagerly for an easy meal, but more barking from the west called the whole pack away. Darkpaw heard a familiar yowl and almost relaxed in relief, much to his own shock. A familiar massive she-cat bolted out of the forest and bounded northward, the pack of dogs hard on her heels.

The forest began to grow quiet. Darkpaw realized he had the freedom to run but as he rose to his paws, a dark brown tabby bolted out of hiding at the top of the slope. Darkpaw watched in silence as Tigerclaw ran down the slope, across a field of bloody rabbit carcasses, and southeast towards treecutplace. Eventually, he too disappeared.

Legs shaking, Darkpaw clawed carefully down out of the tree, ears perked for dogs, and felt a shudder of relief when he landed on the ground. Without pausing to look around, he bounded through the trees and back to camp. The Clan was alert and gathered underneath the Highrock. Snowpaw and Tawnypaw rushed towards him.

"Where have you been?" asked Tawnypaw.

"Everyone has been looking for you!" meowed Snowpaw.

Darkpaw blinked at them. "I was gathering some prey I left in the forest yesterday..." he meowed slowly.

Ashpaw butted inbetween the other two cats. "There are dogs in the forest!" He stamped his feet, tail-tip twitching fearfully. If Darkpaw wasn't caught up in his own fear-scent, he would have registered Ashapw's. "Foxshadow and Brackenfur went out to watch them!"

"I heard her," meowed Darkpaw, his fear quickly morphing into anger. "What does she think she can do against a pack of dogs?"

Ashpaw shrugged, before he was shoved aside by Snowpaw. "Darkpaw, Bluestar will want to know you're okay. You should go talk to her."

"She's talking to that kittypet in her den," meowed Tawnypaw, with the barest hint of snarl at Snowpaw.

Darkpaw heard no more as he raced across to Bluestar's den. He forced himself inside the lichen, interrupting Fireheart and Bluestar. The blue-gray queen looked at Darkpaw with surprise.

"Yes, Darkpaw?"

Suddenly realizing what he had just done and where he was, Darkpaw forced himself to make a quick bow, not even looking at Fireheart. "Bluestar, I saw Tigerclaw."

Bluestar jumped out of her nest. "Where?"

"He was in the forest. After Foxshadow lead the dogs away, he headed towards Treecutplace. There were a bunch of dead rabbits everywhere, Bluestar. The whole pack almost got me!"

"I will inform ThunderClan of this at once," Bluestar meowed firmly. "Fireheart, take a patrol to treecutplace and see if you can find Tigerclaw's scent."

"Should I take Darkpaw with me?"

Bluestar hesitated, before shaking her head. "All the apprentices are confined to camp."

Darkpaw felt his heart climb into his throat. "What about the assessments?"

But Bluestar had already left. Fireheart blinked sympathetically at Darkpaw. "We are probably going to have to postpone the assessments. I'm sorry, Darkpaw."

Darkpaw sat down, speechless. How could so much go so wrong so fast?

 _How am I ever going to get out of my chores now?_

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to spend next weekend getting together a post for Oneshots. I have five summaries ready for you guys, and also a continuation of the Darkstar storyline. I actually have a poll up about that.  
**

 **This chapter is so late! Sorry about that guys! I think for now I'm going update TLB on Tuesdays and sometimes on Thursday from now on.  
**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Gnight!**


	55. Rising Storm pt 10

**A/N: Another short chapter. UUuuuuuuuugh.  
**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: OMg, there are too many. I think I would choose the ones that were objects and animals commonly found in the forest, including Trash-, Sludge-, and Stink-. I'm still waiting for a cat named Polecatstripe.  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: I editted it a little bit so hopefully that makes it a bit better, even you do read it a bit fast. YES! That confusion and ending was intentional!  
**

 **AnonChan1: (A) Oh, never. (1) The hate is real. (2) Yes. (3) To be revealed at a later date. (4) Ah, but there is another interpretation they are missing. (5) Yup. (6) YUP. (7) Exactly.  
**

 **Catlover49: (1) Mapleshade: Join the darkside, we have cream. (2) We shall see.  
**

 **WolfWriter123:** **There are currently 13 apprentices. Goldenflower and Tigerclaw's kits include Tawnypaw, Bramblepaw, Beepaw and Eaglepaw. Willowpelt and Whitestorm's kits include Fernpaw, Ashpaw, Rainpaw and Sootpaw. Frostfur and Darkstripe's kits which include Frostpaw, Icepaw, Snowpaw and Darkpaw.** **Four per litter, with Cloudpaw being the odd one out.**

* * *

Foxshadow could feel the dog's hot breath on her haunches as she raced towards Snakerocks. Her ears swiveled towards the sound of Brackenfur struggling to keep up with her in the branches high above. Foxshadow was much faster on land than Brackenfur was in the trees. So were the dogs.

When the broken statue that served as Snakerocks came into view, Foxshadow scanned for the nearest trees. She thundered across the clearing, dogs swarming at her from all around, as she bounded onto the Snakerocks and leaped over a startled yorkie into a tree trunk. She had landed within easy snapping distance of a German Shepard, and she pushed as hard as she could with her hindlegs, her forepaws flailing and grabbing as high as she could reach before she pulled her hindquaters up after her. The whole tree trembled under the shock waves of the dog as it slammed its forepaws into the tree. She didn't look down, clawing as fast as she could up the tree trunk before one of them got the bright idea to jump up at her. She threw herself over the lowest hanging branch to gather herself, her gaze falling to the dogs. Their snapping jaws sent spit flying everywhere. Nearly all dogs present were focused on her, barking or trying to scramble up the tree after her.

A Cocker Spaniel that barked loudly at her from beside Snakerocks suddenly gave a yelp and twisted around, an angry corkscrew of living muscle disconnecting from her hindpaw. The adder gave a warning hiss as the Cocker Spaniel slunk away. The yelping was enough to distract most of the dogs underneath her, and she used it as an opportunity to climb higher up the tree, before launching herself northward towards the ShadowClan border. A few dogs kept their eyes on her and gave chase. She climbed her new tree and launched into the next one, ignoring the occasional sound of another dog joining the patrol hunting her bellow.

When she reached the Thunderpath, the dogs were too focused on her to notice how close they were to the road. A monster roared up the path, honked angrily before skirting around them. Foxshadow watched the white twoleg and his blue Honda disappear around the bend. Another monster from the other direction, rushing at illegal speeds and unable to see the dog pack around the bend before it was too late, clipped a Rhodesian Ridgeback as they passed. The dog yelped and looked around, ears flat in guilt, before he turned and vanished back into the forest. A few dogs followed him, hoping that he had caught the scent of something easier to catch. Only a Chihuahua and Golden Retriever remained, watching her and yipping incessantly.

The sound of something shifting in the tree next to her made her look up and she spotted Brackenfur in the tree across from her, starring with wide eyes down at the dog. Foxshadow gave a long, low hissing noise, which the dogs ignored. Brackenfur looked at her, and Foxshadow gestured to the other side of the ShadowClan border. She glanced around for a branch to leap towards and, after locking onto her target, she leaped over the Thunderpath. For a heartbeat, a monster had appeared underneath her. There was the sharp yelp of a dog, the hard smack of metal against flesh, the shriek of the monster as it slammed on the brakes, before Foxshadow was safely scrambling up a different tree. When she looked back, the Chihuahua was gone, and the Golden Retriever lay whimpering on the road. It rose to its paws quickly, however, limping though Foxshadow couldn't see any serious injury, before it raced back into ThunderClan territory.

Instead of leaping back over the Thunderpath, Foxshadow scrambled down the tree and padded across the Thunderpath a little west of the Brackenfur's tree. After a heartbeat, she joined him on his branch to look over the dogs.

"It doesn't seem like the dogs have chosen a leader yet," meowed Brackenfur.

Foxshadow snorted. "Don't let their actions deceive you. A leader could already be chosen, but the dogs are too scattered for him to do anything." She licked her paw and swiped it over her ears. "We should let them settle down for a few days before we try to identify him again."

"Are you sure it's a male?" Brackenfur looked doubtful.

Foxshadow nodded. "Dog packs are only led by males and their mates." She paused, realizing in what universe she was, and meowed. "Well, that's the typical pack structure. They tend to lead their packs from the back."

 _Like Bluestar_ , Foxshadow thought before shushing herself.

"You know a lot about dogs," meowed Brackenfur.

"I used to watch them a lot. Once you get passed the fact that they are impulsive, overly exuberant, and lead each other by the nose, you can learn a lot from them." She paused. "They aren't as refined or disciplined as wolves are, so we should not expect any of them to always obey their pack leader."

Brackenfur looked a little ill. "How can we predict what they are going to do?"

Foxshadow tilted her head. "How can we predict what WindClan is going to do, or ShadowClan or RiverClan? Just like every Clan has their own structure, so does every pack and herd." She sniffed the air. "Let's head back to camp and report. It should be safe to hunt in treecutplace and south of the camp, but it would be best to not hunt more than we can eat or else the smell might attract the dogs." She let out a sigh. "We've probably lost our rabbit supply forever."

The pale tabby nodded and rose to his paws, before leaping easily into the next tree. Foxshadow purred in pride, before bunching up her muscles and bounding after him. They made it quickly back to camp, leaping over the barrier from the tree branches and landing in the middle of the Clan.

"Where did you come from?" Patchpelt asked quietly, scanning the tree tops.

Foxshadow padded towards the Highrock and into the leader's den while Brackenfur began to explain the situation in full detail. She sniffed around and knew Fireheart had been here at least in the last hour or so.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Bluestar.

"The dogs seem to have gathered around Snakerocks, and some of them have already been bitten by the adders," meowed Foxshadow. "I believe they are going to be fighting amongst themselves as their leader reasserts his dominance, and then it will make it easier to get rid of them, if the twolegs don't come and get them first."

Bluestar nodded. "How do you know the twolegs might come?"

"It is typical of twolegs to pick up strays off the streets and turn them into pets. These dogs are no different than stray cats." Foxshadow licked her paw and swiped it over her face, enjoying the feel of her rough, black pads against her face. "But we will not have to wait that long. In three days, I will execute a plan that will kill the pack leader and send them all into disarray."

"What plan?" meowed Bluestar.

"A very dangerous plan that requires three days for the whole Clan to practice before we can be sure of getting it right," meowed Foxshadow firmly. She gave a basic outline of the same plan used to deal with the dog pack in the original book series, with herself in place of Fireheart, and much more pre-planning beforehand. She added hurriedly. "I can leap across the gorge at it's narrowest point, so I should be fine."

Bluestar nodded. "I will trust you to make all the preparations. However, I will be there at the last stretch with you."

"I would advise against it, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow carefully, dipping her head. "You will not be able to make the same leap as I can, and I need them fully focused on me so that the trap can work. If you stop or turn around to get out of the way, they will be too focused on you to chase after me and might realize that the ledge is there before it is too late. If we are all going to make it out alive, this is the only way. You and Fireheart will be the first that the dogs chase - that is the most dangerous part. Runningwind, Brightface, Ravenfeather and Swiftwind will be legging most of the trip to the gorge since they are the fastest."

Foxshadow prayed that Bluestar would accept her plan. The blue-gray queen stared at her before gave a sharp nod. Her voice was quiet and stony. "Very well."

Foxshadow was reminded of her son, Stonestar, and flinched. They both knew that Foxshadow had given her the least dangerous job part of the race, but Foxshadow didn't want Bluestar to die before she could appoint a new deputy. Not that Foxshadow was expecting to die.

"Also," Foxshadow meowed, "I think the apprentices should be put through the assessments anyway. The treecutplace will be safe and secure enough for them to hunt there, and that territory has been neglected for a while."

"Treecutplace isn't large enough for more than two apprentices to hold their assessment there," meowed Bluestar.

"Then we can just assess two at a time," Foxshadow meowed. "Bramblepaw and Darkpaw will be assessed first."

Bluestar blinked. "Why Darkpaw?"

"I want the Clan to see his potential, and I think Darkpaw wants to, too." Foxshadow meowed.

"And Bramblepaw?"

Foxshadow shifted. "Bramblepaw's presence will feel more like a challenge to him."

Bluestar's eyes narrowed. "I know what you're doing, Foxshadow."

"Do you?" asked Foxshadow, swallowing.

"You're preparing Fireheart to become the deputy after you." Bluestar rose to her paws. "If you have any doubts you'll survive, I want you to think of a better plan."

"There is no other plan that can work. Trust me, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow. "Besides, it has less to do with dying and more to do with retiring. I want to know I am leaving the Clan in capable paws before I decide to have kits with Dustpelt."

Bluestar blinked. "Do I have your word you will survive this? I don't think I can survive losing another deputy."

Foxshadow stared at her. She stepped forward and pressed her nose into Bluestar's forehead. "It's okay. You won't lose me, and you won't lose Fireheart. I promise."

"Okay," meowed Bluestar, lifting her head. Foxshadow pulled away. "You may continue with the assessments."

"Thank you, Bluestar." Foxshadow dipped her head. "I won't let you down."

* * *

 **A/N: So, in the middle of rewriting this chapter, I mapped out the canon families of some of the cats I'm working with. AS IT TURNS OUT, Sandstorm's father (Redtail) and Tigerclaw's mother (Leopardfoot) are brother and sister.**

 **Think about that for a moment.**

 **So, obviously, Leopardfoot and Patchpelt, though they are both going to be related to each other, are not going to be related to Redtail's family.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! And, if you are following my other story, Oneshots, then check out the poll!**


	56. Rising Storm pt 11

**A/N: Sorry about being two weeks late with this! Also, we have a lot of new reviewers! Hello everyone!  
**

 **S1L3NT: (1) Yes, I am still hoping that Darkpaw is going to be redeemed! But it's the journey that is going to be fun, even if he never actually changes. (2) His name is NOT going to be Darkstripe. Someone has already guessed it... without me even asking. lol  
**

 **lemon: (1) Oh, yes that's a mistake! Thank you again for pointing it out! You're a lifesaver! (2) Oooo, it's supposed to sound like that, yes. And I'm sure all your questions about whether or not she dies, how she dies, and whatnot are going to be answered soon. I hope. If life doesn't get in the way of things. (3) If you haven't, someone else has, lol. (4) No problem! I love names like that! I wish more people would have names like that. I'm actually complying a list of names for a future project I may never actually get around to working on.  
**

 **AnonChan1: (A) Yup, you have that in good order! (B) I know! I was hurting when I wrote that, but I know how dumb dogs can be. They're like kids; once they have their sights on a target they aren't going to be too alert to things that could kill them. (C) Hm, what do you mean? The dogs were supposed to show up after the forest fire, and that hasn't happened yet. (D) Ah, the anticipation... is well deserved.**

 **Catlover49: (2) You got it in one! (3) How so?  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: Yeah, Bluey is getting a tiny clue. Though, to be fair, the way Foxshadow framed it make it obvious.**

 **BraveSeeker3: (Ch54) Yeah, that chapter had problems. Part of the reason I waited so long to post was because I didn't want FFnet doing that to me again. (55) Don't remember what from Bluestar's Prophecy?**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: Yeah, he probably would be. Unless he was in ShadowClan. I mean, they accepted a warrior named Foxheart without any problems. All the other Clans might tease him though. You know, if he was born in ShadowClan and teased by all the other Clans, that would make him more loyal to ShadowClan.**

 **WolfWriter123: Hm, we shall see! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up later this week.**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: (54) Thanks for pointing that out! It has been fixed! (55) I am going to pat myself on the back for creating characters that can make you forget about the canon timeline.**

 **Frost: That I have! I was there since the beginning of it's conception and I am so sorry that the creator died. It was horrible.**

 **ThatOddPotato: I recommend anything done by Prin Pardus here on ffnet! I hope that answer that question.**

 **Amy is On a Sugar Rush: I mostly answered this one in PM, but to the question "How do I keep the book to only a certain number of chapters?" Well, I don't. I don't actually follow the story in the canon books. I threw that out after book one and have since been trying to keep to a series of goals for my story. It also depends on how much you write for each chapter or how many goals you have. It really depends on what you want to do.**

 **WolfStep: Ooo, that is a tricky question. I think the biggest thing I would change is what happened to Graystripe. He should have been exiled to RiverClan and stayed there. I never liked him being a wishy-washy traitor.**

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

As the Clan gathered in Bluestar's shadow, Darkpaw lifted himself up on his haunches and looked out over the Clan, searching for Foxshadow's face and hoping for some hint to what the meeting was going to be about. He could only able to see the back of the deputy's head and sometimes her nose when she turned to talk to her mate. Darkpaw narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at Dustpelt.

With his tail lashing, he sank back down onto his paws and half-turned to Tawnypaw. "I hope they aren't going to give us more chores to do."

Tawnypaw flicked an ear at him. "What other chores could they give us? We aren't allowed to leave camp anymore."

Bluestar's yowl silenced them. "Foxshadow and I have decide to continue with the assessments. They will take place in treecutplace over the next few days. Only two apprentices will be assessed at one time."

Darkpaw stared at Bluestar in shock. He knew from experience that Bluestar would never think of doing something so risky. His yellow gaze fell on Foxshadow, and he wonder with a nervous shiver just how much control Foxshadow had over Bluestar.

"I encourage everyone who is hunting to stay within the safety of treecutplace's barkwall as the dogs will not be able to reach you if you are inside." Bluestar gave a final nod, rose and bounded down the Highrock.

"I wonder who is going to be assessed first?" asked Ashpaw curiously.

"Probably Bramblepaw," meowed Darkpaw with a quick glare at Fireheart's apprentice before turning his gaze toward Tawnypaw, a purr rising in his throat. "And you, of course."

Tawnypaw purred back in response. Ashpaw furrowed his brow at them in thought and looked away.

"Darkpaw, Bramblepaw," yowled ThunderClan's massive deputy, grabbing everyone's attention. "Fireheart will be monitoring your assessment today. I expect you both to be on your best behavior."

Darkpaw was speechless. A shiver of excitement ran from his tail-tip to his nose. This was the chance he'd been waiting for!

"What?" meowed Tawnypaw, shocked. "Why would they do that? You've barely trained at all!"

"It must be because he's the deputy's apprentice," meowed Ashpaw, with a worried glance at Darkpaw, "and think that means he's going to do as good as Bramblepaw."

Darkpaw growled lowly to himself, displeased with the lack of confidence in himself. "Maybe Bluestar sees my abilities."

"You mean Foxshadow?" asked Tawnypaw with a confused head-tilt. "I doubt Bluestar thought of this."

Fur bristling, Darkpaw snapped. "Well, they've obviously set me up to fail since that kittypet is going to be overlooking the assessment."

Ashpaw blinked. "Maybe your natural talent will blow his mind."

"Maybe," Darkpaw meowed, feeling his fur relax a tiny bit. "I should get it over with. Only StarClan knows if the dogs will even let us make it that far."

Tawnypaw snorted. "You're too pessimistic," she meowed playfully, swiping her tail over his shoulder.

Darkpaw twitches his whiskers in displeasure even as a shiver went down his spine. He padded towards Fireheart, an uncomfortable knot twisting in his stomach. He mentally scolded himself for the feeling, but it wouldn't go away so easily.

A white she-cat stepped in front of him, her odd-eyes narrowed accusingly. "You need to tell that tortoiseshell to stop following you around," she meowed sternly.

Startled, the black tabby's eyes shot wide and he stared after Mistleleaf as she disappeared into the medicine cat's den. He glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one there. His thoughts were whipped up in a whirlwind, until Fireheart interrupted them.

"Darkpaw! We are leaving now!"

Wanting to be a tiny bit rebellious, the apprentice waited a half-second too long before finally following after Fireheart and allowing himself to be lead to treecutplace. The forest was unnaturally silent, and Darkpaw wondered if the smell and sounds of dogs had scared at the prey away. The knot in his stomach seemed to fester, and he could smell his own fear scent.

"It is going to be okay," meowed Fireheart comfortingly.

Bristling, Darkpaw ducked his head and grumpily looked away, refusing to accept any form of comfort from the kittypet. Fireheart fell silent, and they padded the rest of the way in awkward silence.

As the treecutplace's barkwall rose in front of them, Darkpaw could feel his excitement return, making his legs itch with a need to hunt. He wondered if the practice he had would be enough to make up for his lack of serious training.

They skirted around the wall border and padded over a path of small sharp stones that threatening to cut into Darkpaw's paw pads. He glanced at Fireheart, but the kittypet was focused on the path ahead. Darkpaw wondered if he could even feel anything with his paws, even the grass. _This is why kittypet's should stay in twoleg nests,_ he groused to himself.

Finally, they came to a cut into one of the barkwall parts big enough to stick even Foxshadow's head through. After the others had passed through, Darkpaw sniffed the splintered edges for scent of a dog passing through. There was none, and he felt his shoulders relax. He met up with Fireheart and Bramblepaw next to a massive rushing river, with a large twoleg wooden nest in the distance.

Fireheart meowed. "Bramblepaw, you will hunt in the southern part. Darkpaw, you will be hunting in the northern part. You will meet back here at dusk with your prey."

Darkpaw padded away eastward and away from the woodnest. Bramblepaw meowed something but the black tabby didn't listen, padding away a little faster. He glanced over his shoulder just to make sure he was alone, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Mapleshade?" he meowed quietly. "Are you there?"

There was no response beyond the rustling of leaves. Darkpaw snorted in disbelief and padded further away from the others, slipping into a hunting crouch. The smell of the forest surrounded him and distracted him, drawing him into the dark folds of the forest. The sounds of prey scurrying across the bark overhead caused his ear to flick, but his focus remained on the ground.

Time seemed to pass quickly. After nearly a quarter moon of frustration, he finally had time to hunt alone. He killed anything that moved, licking the coppery blood out of his claws before moving onto the next kill. His yellow eyes darted around and his ears rotated, as he expertly navigated his way through a piece of territory he had explored in a previous life. He lost count of the prey he'd slain, focused solely on the hunt. His muscles ached and burned, but his excitement at his momentary freedom made him quickly forget how out of shape he was.

As the sky darkened and dusk appeared, Darkpaw slipped under a bush silently, his ears focused on the gentle rustling of feathers. A sudden wind carried the scent of a squirrel but he ignored it, padding carefully and slowly forward, tail frozen over the ground. The bird was oblivious - a bush was between it and Darkpaw, making him completely invisible. Darkpaw smirked to himself, even as his ears swiveled and narrowed down the bird's location.

The bird hopped, and Darkpaw bolted around the bush, paws slamming down onto its back and teeth clamping down on its neck. It didn't even cry out. Pleased, Darkpaw licked his paws, ignoring his muscles protest. This was his last kill before dusk. He was done with his assessment.

Stretching his aching muscles, he rose to his paths grabbed his prey and padded away to retrace his steps. He had robins, thrushes, mice, a squirrel, voles, and one mole in his stash that he needed to carry back and it was going to take at least three trips to carry all twelve pieces of prey back.

When he walked into the clearing for the last time, Bramblepaw was pacing back and forth and his pile of prey was a few tail lengths away from Darkpaw's. Fireheart was waiting patiently and nervous, his gaze resting on Darkpaw's pile and a frown on his face. Feeling suddenly smug, Darkpaw dropped his finally stash on the pile, pleased it was much larger than Bramblepaw's.

Fireheart suddenly lifted his head in surprise and looked over his shoulder as Foxshadow and Brackenfur stepped out of the treeline. He dipped his head to the deputy. "What are you doing here?"

Darkpaw suddenly felt uneasy. He glanced at his pile, wondering if Foxshadow came to sabotage him.

"I thought Brackenfur and I could help you to carry the prey back." Foxshadow looked down on Darkpaw's pile and twitched her whiskers mysteriously. "Well done," she meowed with a tiny purr. She looked at the red tabby tom. "Fireheart, you will be helping Bramblepaw, then you can make your report directly to Bluestar."

Fireheart nodded and rose to his paws, padding over to Bramblepaw's pile to collect the prey. Foxshadow began pawing through Darkpaw's pile, lining the prey up so it would be easy to put their tails together in her mouth. The squirrel, mice, and voles dangled from her narrow chin. Brackenfur gathered up the two thrushes, leaving the two red-breasted robins for Darkpaw.

Nervously, Darkpaw carried his birds to the entrance in the barkwall. Foxshadow and Brackenfur had disappeared, and Darkpaw couldn't even pick up their scent through the prey in his mouth. A sudden feeling of horror filled him and he wondered if Foxshadow had taken his prey somewhere to bury it so the Clan would never know it belonged to him. Or worse, they were going to claim it as their own.

Energized with fear, he started to run back to camp, bounding through the undergrowth. He heard the heavy sounds of a weasel-faced pine marten hopping from branch to branch overhead and picked up his pace. He did not want to get in a fight with a weasel's tree climbing cousin.

When he scrambled down the ravine and bounded for the camp entrance, he heard the familiar sound of cats landing behind him. He glanced back and saw Foxshadow and Brackenfur a tail length behind him. He stopped and quickly looked them over, but the prey he caught was still hanging from their jaws. All ten of them. Relief made his fur and muscles relax, but confusion furrowed his brow. He stepped aside to allow the two warriors to pass, watching to make sure they didn't decide to ditch a half-dozen while his back was turned. He was barely aware of Fireheart and Bramblepaw at the top of the ravine and preparing to make their way down.

A few tail-lengths into camp, Foxshadow dropped the rodents and yowled for the Clan's attention. Brackenfur dropped the three thrushes on the pile and backed up. Darkpaw followed his example, confused. Why was Foxshadow doing this?

The ThunderClan deputy began to lay out the prey carefully in a row as the Clan began gathering around. When Fireheart and Bramblepaw padded into the camp, Foxshadow directed them to lay out their prey. Darkpaw could see right away that Bramblepaw had caught five pieces of prey, but he couldn't bring himself to feel smug over it. He looked at Foxshadow uncertainty.

"Bramblepaw must be a good hunter," meowed Willowpelt, sniffing at Darkpaw's prey.

Foxshadow lifted her head. "This line of prey here belongs to Darkpaw." She pointed a paw at the shorter line. " _This_ line is Bramblepaw's."

Surprised meows rose from the Clan. Darkpaw lifted his head in pride.

Willowpelt looked at her son's son and purred. "You are every bit the warrior your father is."

Foxshadow twitched her whiskers at the remark. Darkpaw nodded absently, his stomach twisting in anticipation as he watched his mentor.

"My apprentice spent much of his apprenticeship doing his chores!" meowed Foxshadow. "You have all heard his complaining! Many of you have even begun to doubt that he was being properly trained, but today I have brought you evidence of the opposite! Fireheart witnessed Darkpaw's abilities first paw and Brackenfur saw the pile before brought it here. Ask them if I speak falsely. Darkpaw has indeed been training, and harder than any other apprentice could hope to achieve!"

As Foxshadow meowed, it hit Darkpaw like a ton of bricks. The Clan had doubted not just Darkpaw's ability but Foxshadow's. She was using his success to alleviate the Clan's concerns about Darkpaw's training. He seethed, watching as Foxshadow encouraged the Clan to pick their choice of prey from those the apprentices had gathered. Darkpaw grabbed a vole and padded toward the apprentice den.

A white tom with blazing blue eyes greeted him at the entrance. "What have you been so concern about?" meowed Cloudpaw, with a sneer on his face. "You're practically the best apprentice in the Clan!"

"You worried I beat you?" meowed Darkpaw defensively, ears flat and lips drawn back in a snarl.

"It isn't about how much prey you catch, Darkpaw," meowed Cloudpaw, with a furious hiss. "You complain about how Foxshadow isn't training you and then you turn around and catch the most prey any apprentice in the Clan has caught?" Cloudpaw growled. "I doubt there's enough prey in the forest for any of us to have a shot at beating you! They might not have tomorrow's assessment because you caught all the prey! How are we supposed to become warriors then, Dirtpaw?"

Darkpaw narrowed his eyes furiously. "Look on the bright side, if you do fail the assessment you can always choose to become a kittypet instead of a loner. I'm sure they'd accept you with that fat fluffy coat!"

Cloudpaw snarled and fluffed out his fur, back arched and tail raised. Darkpaw remembered seeing Raggedstar, covered in mud, fighting Brokenstar in ShadowClan's camp, and wasn't very impressed. He sniffed and made to turn his back on the white kittypet.

"Maybe if you had a real ThunderClan blood line, you wouldn't have anything to worry about," Darkpaw growled.

"Rarr!"

A muscular fur ball slammed into his back and knocked him off his paws, winding him. Darkpaw felt his weight on his shoulders, pinning him, before sharp teeth bit into his ear. Yowling in pain, Darkpaw twisted and kicked him off, but realized that he wasn't as strong as used to be - as he should be.

"Cloudpaw!" Longtail's familiar mew yowled, voice raised in panic. "What are you doing!?"

"Cloudpaw!" barked the deputy. "Get off my apprentice. _Now_."

Darkpaw felt the weight stiffen and hesitate, and he twisted out of the white tom's grip. He prepared to spring on his opponent, but a big and powerful paw knocked him off his paws and pressed down on his shoulders.

"Enough," Foxshadow hissed lowly.

"It's his fault!" meowed Darkpaw and Foxshadow hissed.

"I know who's at fault. The whole Clan heard you both." Foxshadow pressed down a fraction. "I will not let you up until you relax."

With a noise of frustration and after clawing uselessly at the ground, Darkpaw relaxed. Foxshadow stepped off and padded towards Cloudpaw.

"It is unbecoming of a warrior of ThunderClan to be _jealous_ , Cloudpaw," she meowed. "Regardless of your thoughts and feelings, you must speak your fellow warriors with a cool head and respect."

The white tom flattened his ears and lowered his head. "Yes, Foxshadow."

Foxshadow licked his ear and pressed her nose into his head fur before looking away. "And you, Darkpaw. If not for your complaining, your disobedience, and your inability to keep your tone respectful, you would have been made a warrior today. Remember that next time you open your big mouth. Darkpaw, go to the medicine cat den. Cloudpaw, I suspect that the medicine cats will have something for you to do for them."

Darkpaw shot Cloudpaw an angry glare but was surprised when the kittypet glared back. Annoyed, Darkpaw huffed and turned away, dragging his tired paws back to the medicine cat den. When he saw Mistleleaf, he remembered.

"I haven't seen your tortoiseshell she-cat!" he hissed, before walking around the she-cat into the nearest nest.

"She is still here," meowed Mistleleaf, quietly. "She will speak to you eventually."

"Why don't you tell her to go away if she bothers you so much?" snapped Darkpaw, facing away from the entrance.

Mistleleaf fell silent, her eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Though no one can see her, that doesn't mean she is not still there."

Cloudpaw padded in, sounding unhappy. "Mistleleaf, Foxshadow has ordered me to help you with the herbs."

The white she-cat shook her head. "While the dogs are here, we don't fetch herbs. You can take the mousebile to the elders, though."

The white tom brightened and nodded. "Sure!"

Darkpaw sneered at Cloudpaw, before looking Mistleleaf. "Does this mean that I don't have to collect herbs?"

"Yes," meowed Mistleleaf, before collecting some cobwebs and marigold. She padded up to Darkpaw and touched his ear with her nose. She looked him over and rest a paw on his shoulder, which was shaking with over-exertion. "Rest here tonight."

Darkpaw nodded and rested his head between his paws as Mistleleaf applied the poultice to his ear. When he closed his eyes, he fell almost instantly asleep and darkness surrounded him. He smelled the coppery tang of blood, felt his paws scrape across shattered bones too large to be prey and too small to be twolegs, and heard the sound of a river rushing right besides him. He was walking along a bank covered in cat remains. Dogs barked in the distance, growing steadily louder. He couldn't see his nose in front of his face and he felt his heart climb into his throat. He began to pad faster, ignoring the pain jabbing into his paws and muscles as he broke into a run. The bones gave way to slippery rocks and he fell, sideways, into the blood filled river. For a moment, he was tumbling along the surface, catching snatches of the black and empty sky high above.

His voice echoed back to him, like a distant memory. " _...Why is it always dark here? Where is the moon?...I thought we would be hunting across the sky with our warrior ancestors, and watching over our Clanmates._ "

Tigerclaw snarled into his ear, but when he turned the cat was nowhere to be found. " _That is not the way for us. I don't need starlight to follow my path. If StarClan thinks they can forget about us, then they're wrong._ "

Darkpaw jerked awake, blinking blearily at the warm sunlight pouring into the den. The medicine cat den was empty. Darkpaw's muscles ached as he rose to his paws and padded towards the entrance, swaying on his paws. He felt like he hadn't slept in a moon.

 _That place..._ he thought to himself, disturbed. _Is it real?_

He shook it off and rose to his paws, padding towards the apprentice's den. When he padded inside, he was surprised to find nearly every apprentice gathered there. He looked for Tawnypaw and Ashpaw, who were near the entrance and sneakily padded over.

"What is going on?" he asked quietly, eyes focusing on Cloudpaw and Bramblepaw, who were arguing loudly at the back of the den. He caught snatches of his name and realized it was about him.

Tawnypaw looked at him. "Cloudpaw is worried he could fail his assessment because you showed up one of our older apprentcies, but Bramblepaw doesn't think the number of prey matters as long as we understand the warrior code."

Darkpaw snorted but remembered Foxshadow's words and decided to change topics. "What are they planning?"

The pale tortoiseshell shrugged. "They haven't said."

In front of them, Rainpaw turned around and blinked. "Maybe Cloudpaw has an idea how we all can become warriors sooner."

Tawnypaw snorted. "I doubt it. He isn't that smart."

Ashpaw sighed. "I doubt any of us could beat a fox for our first assessment."

Darkpaw looked at Ashpaw, an idea forming in his head. Slowly, he rose to his paws and weaved through the other murmuring apprentices, ignoring how they fell silent as he passed. He paused at the front of the group, listening for an opening.

"Foxshadow never disobeyed her mentor!" snapped Bramblepaw. "Unlike Darkpaw! You can't compare the two."

Darkpaw bristled angrily.

"But Darkpaw is ahead of all of us!" Cloudpaw meowed. "How are we going to catch up with him?"

"There is no catching up to him!" hissed Bramblepaw. "He has to catch up to us!"

"He beat you!"

"It wasn't a competition!"

Cloudpaw sat down, furious. "If it wasn't a competition, then why do it in the first place?"

"It's to help them judge where we are, so they can help us improve," meowed Bramblepaw carefully.

"And so we can compare our skills to each other," Cloudpaw growled. "It's a competition."

Bramblepaw shook his head in exasperation. "Don't do anything stupid like yesterday." Bramblepaw pushed through the crowd and out of the den.

Sensing his opening, Darkpaw padded forward, causing Cloudpaw to bristle. "If you're interested in impressing Foxshadow, I know of something she hasn't done yet."

Cloudpaw's tail slowly wagged as he studied Darkpaw. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Foxshadow defeated a fox before becoming a warrior, but what if we all defeated something bigger than a fox?" As Cloudpaw shifted, Darkpaw's eyes narrowed shrewdly.

After a long pause, Cloudpaw lowered his head and meowed, "What do you have in mind?"

Darkpaw internally smiled triumphantly. "What if we got rid of the dog pack?"

Cloudpaw eyes sparkled with intrigue. "How?"

Darkpaw yellow eyes gleamed as he smiled. _  
_

* * *

 **A/N: I hate to bring this up again but people seemed a little confused at what I meant. The greatest problem with Leopardfoot and Redtail being siblings in canon is that it makes Brambleclaw X Squirrelflight yet another inbred pairing, since Brambleclaw's father and Squirrelflight's mother are cousins. Their trees would go something like this: Adderfang - Leopardfoot - Tigerclaw - Brambleclaw - Alderheart; and then Adderfang - Redtail - Sandstorm - Squirrelflight - Alderheart. In Foxshadow's lie, Fireheart is related to Tigerclaw through Tigerclaw's father, Pinestar - not Leopardfoot, Sandstorm's aunt. So, while Tigerclaw and Sandstorm are related, technically Fireheart and Sandstorm are not. But, in both Foxshadow's lie and Sandstorm's canon, Squirrelflight is literally Brambleclaw's cousin once removed. Complicated, isn't it?  
**

 **I've always wondered why the cats didn't have a special name for fences. Barkwall sound alright to everyone?**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this update and don't forget to leave a review! For those of you who don't know, I've started Darkstar's Reign, which I'm updating irregularly alongside The Legacy series. Enjoy!**


	57. Rising Storm pt 12

**A/N: I am back and with a Cover Image of Foxshadow! Also, I am real nervous about fan reaction to this chapter, lol. A lot of you are gonna be... well... we'll see.  
**

 **B0R3D0M 1s M0T1VAT10N: I don't know which ones are your bbs, so... sorry in advance?  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: The wikia? Sorta. I always check with the books to make sure. It was confirmed in Bluestar's Prophecy that Leopardfoot and Redtail are siblings. Redtail was revealed to be Sandstorm's father by one of the Erins, so until they change their minds that's canon, and trust me when I say they will change their minds if they ever find out about that little mistake.  
**

 **AnonChan1: A well trained dog is a safe dog! (C) Oh, yeah! Foxshadow thought it was a good plan. Why would she not use it? lol (1) Yes, there is more trust than normal between Bluy and Foxy. (2) Darkpaw's attitude comes from a place of severe insecurity and self-important egotism. It is sadly something he is going to have to live with for the rest of his life. (3) Darkpaw's main problem with that scene was that she was alleviating concerns about her own ability to train him... which he doesn't think she's doing very well. (4) LOL! At least you know they aren't real! (5) Yup. That's a thing. (6) No. He's think about Cloudpaw taking on a whole pack of dogs, and then Foxshadow coming to his rescue and dying. (7) Heh ha, heh ha, heh ha.**

 **Riley-Cooper123: (33) Not sure what you were trying to say? I corrected the one mistake I found in Chapter 33. I did mean warrior ceremony then. (56) Lol awwwwwwwwww. I'm actually kinda scared now...**

 **Catlover49: Thank you! I will try my best!**

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush:  
 _Darkpaw_ : *snarls* If StarClan willed that I be reborn again, then obviously I deserve more! Do I have to spell it out for you, twoleg?  
 _Foxshadow_ : But what if it wasn't StarClan who brought you back, Darkpaw?  
 _Darkpaw_ : *hisses* Blasphemy! Take your filth out of my Clan, kittypet!  
 _Foxshadow_ : I'm pretty sure I was a loner... and am currently your deputy, so I'd watch my tongue if I were you.  
**

 **Snowfall: Nooo, Ffnet why you no work? Glad it finally did! Even if your comment now scares Darkpaw.**

 **WolfWriter123: Tbh, Ashpaw, Tawnypaw, Snowpaw, Bramblepaw, Cloudpaw and Darkpaw are all that matters for now. There's seven others but who cares about them, lol.  
**

 **Cleo: It's pretty self-explanatory. You write fanfiction however you want. If you want advice, I recommend the website Springhole, which you can look up on google.  
**

 **Guest: We shall see, though I think it's pretty obvious! Tawnypaw really is blind to Darkpaw's flaws, and they say love is blind so... but future events could change their dynamic for the worse.**

 **Gamelover41592: Thanks for your review!**

* * *

"Foxshadow," meowed Fireheart. "Can I speak to you privately?"

She swallowed a bite of mole before rising to her paws. "Sure, Fireheart."

The fiery ticked tabby quickly lead her to the prisoner's den, and Foxshadow was reminded of the first time she had arrived in ThunderClan camp nearly a year before. She quickly shook it off and settled down in Yellowfang's old nest.

"Well?" she meowed as the lean, muscular tom sat down opposite her.

He blinked his wide green eyes and shifted on his paws. "I wanted to know what you and Ravenfeather are up to."

Foxshadow blinked. "It isn't just me and Ravenfeather, Fireheart. I have Runningwind, Swiftwind, Brightface, Cinderheart, Thornclaw, and Brackenfur working with to plan for the dog problem."

"That's half our warriors," meowed Fireheart.

Her tail flicked in irritation. "Yes, I know, but we need the fastest warriors in order to deal with the dog pack! That is why you, Mousefur, Longtail, Willowpelt, Brindleface, Goldenflower, Dustpelt, Bluestar and all the apprentices are here in camp."

"And what about Thornclaw, Brackenfur or Cinderheart?" meowed Fireheart.

"Brackenfur is faster than you think, Fireheart. Cinderheart is learning to become just as fast as well as practicing her tree climbing skills. Thornclaw is as strong as Thistleclaw and Tigerclaw, hence _claw_ in his name, but he needs to learn how to defeat dogs in a fight if our first plan fails." Foxshadow shifted. "Are you doubting the abilities of our warriors, Fireheart?"

The red tabby dipped his head. "I am just worried that you are putting the Clan in danger by leaving it mostly undefended."

"There is a dog pack between us and ShadowClan," she meowed, "and we had two patrols on the RiverClan border, which is normal for us, so they don't know anything is amiss."

Fireheart shifted. "Won't it look strange if they find out that some of our warriors are no longer on border patrols?"

"How would they know that?" meowed Foxshadow. "They could just think that they are on the ShadowClan border or hunting instead."

"But..." Fireheart trailed off, unsure.

Foxshadow sighed. "Would it make you feel better if you saw what we were doing? We are going out tomorrow to the Sandy Hollow to train from dawn to sunhigh, so visit whenever you have the time."

The warrior paused, thinking over the offer before nodding. "I guess it's better than nothing."

"Good," Foxshadow meowed, rising to her paws and shaking off the old moss. "I'll see you then."

As she padded out of the camp, a large splash of rain struck her nose. A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. Foxshadow quickly padded to the warrior's den before the sky began to fall heavily.

* * *

A claw jabbed into her shoulder, and Foxshadow jerked awake to the sounds of dogs barking excitedly in the distance. She blinked up at Longtail with tired, hooded eyes.

"Foxshadow, the apprentices are gone," hissed the yellow-and-black tabby, long tail whipping anxiously around his body.

The deputy rose to her paws sharply, fur bristling. The quick motion nudged Dustpelt and woke him up, who blinked blearily at them both.

"What's going on?" the tom asked through a yawn.

Foxshadow flicked her ears. "The apprentices have disappeared. Dustpelt, I'm leaving you in charge. I don't want anyone to leave the camp, especially Bluestar. Longtail, rouse Ravenfeather and Runningwind and tell them to wake up Swiftwind and Brightface. I'll wake up Brackenfur."

The deputy didn't wait for a response and quickly padded around the sleeping cats to her former apprentice, jabbing him in the side until he had lifted his head. "Brackenfur, wake up Thornclaw and meet us at the ravine. It's an emergency."

Foxshadow padded over to Cinderheart and jabbed her paw into the she-cat's backside. "It's an emergency, Cinderheart."

The grey-and-cream tabby groaned and blinked, stretching out her limbs and disturbing Mousefur. Foxshadow didn't linger around, padding away quickly into camp and looking around at the fastest warriors of ThunderClan. Except for Swiftwind, who had stepped up to the freshkill pile for a mouthful and was currently being chewed out by Longtail, they looked expectantly at her, and she gestured for them to gather around. Swiftwind was the last to join them, abandoning his meal and his argument with Longtail to shove himself between Brightface and Runningwind.

"What is going on?" he demanded. "Can't a cat-"

Foxshadow interrupted him. "The apprentices have disappeared. I believe they have gone to attack the dogs."

The dog pack barking in the distance sounded louder in the shocked silence.

"What are we going to do?" asked Brightface, eyes wide and scared.

Foxshadow raised her tail and lifted her head until she was on her tip-paws. "We cannot panic. We must do what we had planned to do from the very beginning."

"But you said we needed three days to train for it," meowed Brightface. "How are we going to do it with only a day's worth of training?"

The deputy flicked her ears. "I did say we should train for three days, but I never said it was _necessary_ to train for three days. I had hoped the time could give the two-legs a chance to come fetch the dogs for us, so no one would be harmed. But the apprentices have ruined that idea and we must act now before they all get themselves killed."

Her dog patrol started to nod to themselves, the seriousness of the situation causing their eyes to harden and faces to set. Longtail pushed his way through the crowd, tail flicking in shock.

"Training?" The tan-and-black tom twitched his whiskers and fur bristling in alarm. "I've never heard about any training."

Foxshadow blinked calmly at Longtail. "I need you and the others to stay in camp, Longtail."

"No way!" he meowed, glancing at Brightface. "If they're going, so am I!"

"Longtail, we need warriors here to defend the camp in case RiverClan invades," Foxshadow meowed. The tabby opened his mouth to argue, but Foxshadow silenced him with a wave of her tail. Her tone hardened. "Do not force me to make it an order."

"I'll make sure he stays in camp," meowed Mousefur, emerging from the warrior's den and stepping into the circle of cats, her whiskers twitching unhappily.

The deputy relaxed in relief, and dipped her head towards the senior warrior. "Both of you will keep vigil. We will return as soon as we can."

Mousefur dipped her head to the group. "May StarClan be with you all."

With a grand sweep of her tail for her patrol to follow, Foxshadow pushed through the line of cats and leaped over the bramble wall. She was grateful for her black, thick paw pads as she scrambled quickly and easily up the ravine wall. When they had all safely reached the top, Foxshadow padded in front of everyone to issue out quick orders.

"Brackenfur, Cinderheart, and Thornclaw will be in charge of rescuing the apprentices. Brackenfur, you will lead the dogs to Swiftwind, who will pass it on to Brightface, who will lead the dogs to Runningwind, who will lead the dogs to Ravenfeather, who will lead the dogs to me. When you are done with your runs, you will help Cinderheart and Thornclaw rescue the apprentices from whatever dogs remain and get them to the safety of the branches. Am I understood?"

The patrol was tense and nervous, but they nodded and murmured their understanding. Foxshadow knew she could trust them to follow threw with the plan. After all, it was just like the original one, only Brackenfur would start it instead of Ravenfeather, and Ravenfeather would be passing the dog pack off to her. She gave a nod.

"My StarClan be with you all!" she yowled, before she turned and raced towards the gorge.

She stretched her spine with each pump of her legs, hoping the running technique Runningwind had taught them all would prevent them all from getting too tired out during the long run. Ravenfeather and Runningwind raced alongside her up until they had to veer off to their hiding spot.

Pretty soon, there was no cat around her at all. She found the holly bush she had marked the day before and quickly scrambled underneath it, ignoring the prickly branches clawing at her fur as she started to kick and break the branches so that it would be wide enough for Ravenfeather to get inside without a struggle. Elsewhere, her fellow runners were doing the same to their hiding places, making it easier for someone else to dart inside away from the dogs.

When the distant sounds of dogs barking started to sound louder, Foxshadow stopped beating the bush and quickly took up position outside of it, keeping the bush between her and the dogs. A sharp cry told her Ravenfeather had ducked into his hiding spot. Foxshadow yowled and stepped out, catching the dog's attention with her ginger fur. Their gazes focused on her, slobber and drool falling out of their mouths in thick cords, a long legged Great Dane standing out in front. There was no malice in their expressions, only excitement, and Foxshadow felt something pull at her heart strings.

Then the Great Dane snarled, and Foxshadow bolted towards the gorge. The sounds of the dogs huffing and barking at her heels told her they were in hot pursuit, and her pace quickened as her eyes scanned the terrain, desperately seeking her escape. Blood pounded in her ears, her long body and long legs eating up the distance. The hot breath of the Great Dane on her tail-tip did nothing; she was running as fast as she could. She dodged around a bush and felt a thrill of satisfaction when one of the dogs behind her yelped in surprise when they ran into bramble thorns.

After what felt like forever, the forest gave way to open clearing. The branches and undergrowth separating her from the dogs disappeared. She tried to put on a burst of speed, but knew it was pointless. The Great Dane's long legs began swallowing the gap between them.

Foxshadow saw the edge of the gorge. Then teeth snapped shut on her rear. The gorge was a foxlength away. She swung through the air. Something collided into them, and the Great Dane let go with a yelp. She spun wildly, her tail lashing out to correct herself. A thrill of satisfaction hit her as she saw half of them had following her over the edge.

It took her a full second to realize they were all falling together. The Great Dane looked terrified down at the water below. A heartbeat later, a surging, white wave of water his them all.

Foxshadow tumbled under the surface of the river. Her injured back scraped against the rocky bed. She opened her mouth in shock and water rushed in. The current shoved her further under. Black fog swallowed her senses.

 _She was floating in a void. A pale grey light rapidly closed in on her as a tom approached, starlight swirling in his coat._

 _"Who are you?" she called, narrowing her eyes as the unfamiliar scent hit her nose. "What is happening?"_

 _The gray tabby blinked calmly. "You are losing a life."_

 _Foxshadow lifted her head in surprise. "What do you mean? I'm not a leader!"_

A flash of river surrounded her. She tasted blood on her mouth. She felt weak and dizzy, her back cold from the icy river. Around her, heavy bodies floated past, some struggling to swim and others not. Blackness engulfed her again.

 _"Not of the living, not of the dead," continued the gray tom as if uninterrupted, "but your ability grants you powers similar to that of one. You have but to dream yourselves back to life, and it shall be as you dreamed it. StarClan may threaten to shorten it or claim to be preventing you from joining them before it's your time, but they cannot control the spirits of those who gave them their powers. Just as you cannot control StarClan."_

 _The black-brown, ginger and white she-cat blinked. "There is a greater power than StarClan?"_

 _"Yes," meowed the tom. "Where else could we receive our prophecies?"_

 _She almost said "Rock" but realized that explaining the blind sphynx would take too long. "Does this mean StarClan has put a limit on how many times I can come back to life?"_

 _The gray tabby tom blinked and nodded. "Yes," he meowed. "You have five lives left."_

Foxshadow opened her mouth to say something else but the cat in front of her vanished. She jerked as she felt the current around her, tugging at her, but her leg was caught in something, preventing her from being washed downstream. A wave of relief washed over her. She could not die again.

She sucked in a tiny breath and ducked her head underwater, searching for what was trapping her. Her foreleg was caught between a rock and the crook of a branch of some sunken tree. She kicked at the branch, feeling the hard wood give slightly. She lifted her head and tried to maneuver her body around so she could rest her back legs on the tree, hoping it could help lift her head above the water. Her paw twisted in place, and she let out a frustrated noise as pain, numb as it was, clawed up her foreleg. She kicked out and lifted her head above the surface, coughing up water and struggling to breath.

"Help!" she rasped. A sudden swell washed over her head. She closed her eyes and pushed her nose up out of the water, trying to stop the water from going down her nostrils. She spluttered. "Help!"

When the river lowered enough for her to open her eyes, she scanned the banks for a familiar land mark, but found none. She spotted a nearby grey slab of rock sticking out of the water just before another wave swelled over her head, forcing her under. When she kicked off the trunk, it twisted in its hold, and she yowled as she was propelled above the water by a foreleg and thrown down river. She spun around underwater, realizing she was free. She kicked off the bottom and breached the surface, jerking her head around to try and see land.

Ahead, a wooden twoleg bridge rapidly closed the distance. Foxshadow took a heartbeat to ponder her choices before twisted around so her hindpaws hit the side of the bridge and absorbed the impact. The force of the rushing river forced her to bunch up into a crouch, and she fought to drag herself over the edge of the bridge onto the surface.

The spring air felt cold against her soaked sides, and she was forced to stop and lick the water out of her fur. She stopped at the sight of the bridge turning red with blood and lifted her foreleg to inspect it, only to find a deep round wound where a branch had stabbed her. The limb still numb from the water and the cold air. If it wasn't treated soon it could get worse, and the closest place to have it treated was in RiverClan camp.

A shiver of uncertainty ran down her spine. She didn't know what to say to the RiverClan cats if she walked into their camp right now, with her wounded leg. Asking them to treat her wound would naturally make them wonder why she wasn't in ThunderClan camp getting it treated. If she showed up asking for the medicine cats to help ThunderClan, they would probably wonder why her wounds weren't treated. If ThunderClan needed help, it was her responsibility as deputy to ask for help from another Clan, and the only Clan she could reach right now without possibly dying was RiverClan. There was no other choice.

 _I shouldn't waste time_ , she thought, rising to her three good legs _. If I bleed out, I'll lose another life and be down to four._

Her gaze swept the riverbanks as she steeled herself for the long hobble to their camp. It was difficult to find a good pace that didn't jar her arm unexpectedly, and she was forced to stop whenever a spike of pain shot up her leg.

Wincing, she hobbled onward, stopping when she heard the sounds of many cats yowling and meowing in misery and distress before suddenly becoming quiet. Confused, she hobbled forward, only for a warrior to yowl a warning and a challenge. Foxshadow threw back her head and yowled, but her voice sounded raspy and raw. Embarrassed, her fur sticking out in wet clumps, she settled on her rear and waited for a RiverClan patrol to surround her.

"Who goes there?" yowled a voice Foxshadow recognized instantly.

"Graystripe," she rasped. "It's me."

The silver gray tabby seemed to spring out of the undergrowth, halting nose to nose with Foxshadow. The deputy noticed that his pelt was thick and sleek and plump under the wet fur. When she opened her mouth, she caught the faintest smell of rabbit.

"Have you been hunting on WindClan territory?" she asked.

A smokey black senior warrior stepped out of the undergrowth, his expression stoic as he blinked in greeting to her. "Are you accusing RiverClan of stealing prey?" he growled.

"Only Graystripe," rasped Foxshadow, whiskers curling in amusement before she became serious. "I need to speak with Stonestar. I am here to request aid from RiverClan."

"RiverClan is in no position to give any aid to ThunderClan," meowed Blackclaw.

"You might," rasped Foxshadow. "Our Clan has been ravaged by dogs. We need medicine cats to help cure those that have survived."

Graystripe's fur rose, his eyes growing wide. "What happened?"

Blackclaw gave him a disapproving stare, causing the gray warrior to flinch and shrink away. RiverClan's deputy lifted his head to Foxshadow. "I will speak to Stonestar on your behalf." He nodded towards Foxshadow's injured leg. "Wait here."

The massive she-cat nodded and wrapped her tail around her haunches. Graystripe shifted awkwardly. "What happened?" he blurted out.

Foxshadow gave him a hard look, lips curling in a snarl. "I am not Fireheart, Graystripe. I will reveal nothing about what happened to a traitor." She paused. "You and Blackclaw looked plump for a Clan notorious for starving on fish. I'm guessing you found a rabbit warren on your territory somewhere, correct?"

Graystripe's eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded.

"I guess that means you won't be needing Sunningrocks anymore," meowed Foxshadow. "I will be sure to inform Bluestar of this."

Graystripe bristled and looked away, conflicted.

Foxshadow snorted. "You disgust me, Graystripe. You can't pick and choose your Clan... like Fireheart did. He doesn't deserve scum like you for his friend. He's better off with Sandstorm and Ravenfeather to be with him than you."

"Someone like you?" Graystripe hissed. "I know what you did to Primrosepaw and her siblings. She doesn't want to leave the camp now and decided to become a medicine cat because of you."

"And who told you that? Heavystep?" Foxshadow glared at Graystripe. "I had to protect my Clan and secure Sunningrocks for us."

"Then you gave Sunningrocks up," hissed Graystripe.

Foxshadow clicked at him. "What bothers you more, Graystripe? That RiverClan lost Sunningrocks to us or that you weren't there to fight for ThunderClan?"

"I am loyal to RiverClan!" he yowled, but he sounded as if he was trying convince himself.

"You aren't loyal to any Clan!" Foxshadow hissed lowly. "You are loyal to Fireheart and Silverstream and your kits, and _that's it_. You can hide the truth from yourself, but not from me."

The undergrowth rustled and Blackclaw emerged with Stonestar a tail-length behind him. The gray tabby leader looked at Graystripe, blinked at the wound in Foxshadow's foreleg and hesitated.

"Foxshadow," he meowed, dipping his head. He gave Blackclaw a strange look. "Fetch the medicine cats."

Blackclaw dipped his head and padded away.

The ThunderClan deputy returned the bow with a deeper one to respect Stonestar's status as leader. "Stonestar," she meowed in greeting. "I apologize for asking this of you when your Clan is obviously still recovering from your island flooding."

Stonestar glanced at Graystripe again, but Graystripe was just staring at Foxshadow in shock.

"I saw your camp on my way over," Foxshadow lied quickly, mentally reprimanding herself for subconsciously trying to land Graystripe in hot water. "I can understand if you refuse to send your aid, but our apprentices badly need it."

"The apprentices?" meowed Graystripe, but a quick glare from Stonestar silenced him.

"We are sorry to hear about the state of things in ThunderClan," Stonestar meowed, "but we will not be able to give any aid. Our herbs were washed away down river."

"We are not asking for herbs, Stonestar," meowed Foxshadow. "But if they are your main concern, we can give you some of ours.."

Stonestar blinked. "That is a generous offer. I'm sure our medicine cats would appreciate it." He hesitated. "But I was not aware that ThunderClan had already stocked their stores."

"I never said our stores were stocked full of herbs," Foxshadow corrected. "Only that we would be willing to share. It's newleaf and herbs will be growing fast, but even a little can go a long way." Foxshadow narrowed her eyes. "ThunderClan cares more about it's own cats than whether we will have enough herbs in leaf-bare."

The RiverClan leader blinked. "I see."

The underbrush rustled once more and an old long-haired brown tabby tom emerged, his apprentices trailing behind him. The small blue-gray she-cat took one look at Foxshadow and gave a tiny squeak of dismay. Foxshadow dipped her head to the startled apprentice before raising her injured paw for the older medicine cat, Mudfur, to inspect it.

The former warrior sniffed the wound. "Primrosepaw, bring me cobwebs." He lifted his head. "We won't be able to treat the wound with anything. Our herbs were destroyed."

"So I've heard," Foxshadow meowed. Her stomach erupted into nervous butterflies, and she glanced at Stonestar, who was murmuring quietly to his deputy. "ThunderClan offers to share some of its herbs with you if you would be willing to come to our camp and help treat our injured."

Mudfur blinked. "That is a very generous offer. It would save us some days of gathering herbs."

Stonestar rose to his paws. "If you think this would be a good idea, Mudfur."

"ThunderClan would understand if your apprentice would wish to stay behind," rasped Foxshadow.

The old medicine cat blinked and nodded. "We have taken care of most cats already. I'm sure RiverClan will be left in good paws."

Stonestar hesitated, but gave a firm nod. "Very well. You may leave once Foxshadow's wound is wrapped."

Foxshadow dipped her head. "ThunderClan is grateful to RiverClan, Stonestar."

When Mudfur had carefully wrapped Foxshadow's wound, Stonestar ordered Graystripe to fetch Whiteclaw and Mistyfoot. When Graystripe returned, he was sent to go hunting. Foxshadow was glad to see him gone. With Mudfur, Mistyfoot and Whiteclaw behind her, Foxshadow bid Stonestar farewell and hobbled back towards ThunderClan territory. She hoped that the Clan was okay and would be willing to share some herbs in exchange for help.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm not really satisfied with this chapter but I think it's better than nothing. I should be busy for another two weeks before I'll have any free time to write another one. I'll be graduating from college this May, so I'll probably end up job hunting then. Hopefully, I can get this story done before then.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	58. Rising Storm pt 13

**A/N: Another chapter? On a tuesday after only three days since the last one was posted? *gasp*  
**

 **Gamelover41592: The fate of the apprentices are revealed in this chapter! Trust me, it's not going to be pretty.  
**

 **AnonChan1: (I) Eh, Fireheart's not really sure how to deal with the dogs, but he's at least trying to make sure Foxshadow is dealing with the other Clans. (II) He did. She is. (III) Thank goodness Mousefur was there to stop Longtail from making a mess of things. Foxshadow was on the clock. (IV) Yup. (V) Hm. (VI) Rock, oh Rock, does he even exist in this universe? Probably. So does Midnight, but they'd take too long to explain. lol (VII) Graystripe is on her bad side. Graystripe doesn't hold grudges though. Unlike Heavystep. (VIII) Needs to survive, yeah.  
**

 **Emerald the Rain-IceWing: For a Clan that constantly claims they get fat on fish, they tend to be known for starving because they _only_ eat fish. Foxshadow's "starving on fish" comment was in reference to that and the fact that Graystripe currently smelled like rabbit - a type of food that RiverClan is notorious for refusing to eat simply because it's not fish. Even ShadowClan is known for eating fish on occasion, mostly because they live in a marsh/meadow terrain and it tastes better than frog.  
**

 **Riley-Cooper123: That would be a life saver! Foxshadow is doing what she thinks a typical loyal member of ThunderClan would do... which is be angry at Graystripe. She has different reasons for it, though, since the whole thing should never have happened in the first place, and she would have preferred if Graystripe had rejected Silverstream in favor of his birth Clan. After all, in the original books, it was actually weird for a tom to be involved in the lives of his kits.  
**

 **S1L3NT: Ohhhh, Mapleshade already knows. She's been trying to get Darkpaw to kill Foxshadow for a reason, you know. XD Mapleshade just thinks that StarClan won't accept her, which would mean she automatically defaults to the Dark Forest. But... heh heh. Can't reveal too much! (Also, thank you for tagging your name! It's gets so confusing having too many guests. How does anyone know who I'm talking to?)  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: No, man, you're good! Foxshadow is using her educated guessing, but the main reason she went to RiverClan was because of her own injuries - not ThunderClan's potential injuries. They were just a really good excuse. Besides, it's good to prepare for the worst possibility when trying to figure out what really happened beforehand would have resulted in her bleeding out. But, yeah, it's basically a selfish decision... but with a beneficial outcome.  
**

 **WolfWriter123: (1) Primrosepaw doesn't like Foxshadow for the same reasons that Pikefin, Perchwing and Heavystep don't like her - during a battle on Sunningrocks, she ignored Heavystep to attack the apprentices first and drive them off Sunningrocks. In their eyes, this was a cowardly move made in a desperate attempt to win Sunningrocks. In her eyes, she was preventing seven moon old apprentices from dying in their first battle due to their inexperience and the incompetence of the only mentor of their present, Heavystep. (2) If she thought about, sure she might find it weird. But she's spent much time in the Clans and had months to adjust to it, so I don't think it's that big of an issue. Also, she's great with names.  
**

* * *

Early that morning, the apprentices had gathered inside of the apprentice's den, careful not to disturb the sleep of Fernpaw and Bramblepaw. Darkpaw could see their flanks rising and falling in the pale moonlight as it filtered through the thick bushes.

Cloudpaw's long fur had turned pale gray in the moonlight, and he looked almost like a StarClan warrior among them. Only the brightness and excitement in his eyes betrayed his mortality as he shifted restlessly on his mossy bed. He quietly hissed at Darkpaw. "Well, this is your idea. When are we leaving?"

"Have patience," Darkpaw meowed, his tone condescending. He glanced at Frostpaw, Icepaw and Snowpaw, fur prickling in sudden worry before he dismissed it. This was his last chance to rid the Clan of a few kittypets. His daughters and son would survive; after all, they had pure ThunderClan blood flowing through their veins. He turned his attention to the quiet and dark camp, his sharp yellow eyes easily making out Patchpelt and Brindleface on vigil. "We must all move as stealthily as possible."

Before the night sky began to lighten with the coming dawn, Darkpaw stepped out of the den and into the warm night air. A heatwave had rolled over the whole territory after the heavy rains early that night, and a stagnant and heavy fog had carried over the camp. It was the perfect disguise for the apprentices as they left their den, one-by-one, crouching, and followed Darkpaw into the dirtplace. Darkpaw was careful to walk around the wet, squishy ground, and he hesitated at the long faded scent of Ravenfeather. The rain had a strange tendency to either wash smells away but hot air brought back long faded smells, carried on invisible drops of evaporated water headed upwards to join the clouds. Darkpaw could not have known the science behind this, but he smelled the results.

"What's wrong?" asked Snowpaw, green eyes wide and scanning the ground for a clue as to why Darkpaw had paused.

"Nothing," the heavily brindled tabby responded, fluffing his fur out in self-importance. He stepped around the spot where he smelled the pure black warrior and made a mental note to check it out more thoroughly later. "Let's keep doing."

The black tabby led the apprentices around the camp and down the ravine to it's end. The ground slowly climbed upwards as the ravine narrowed unit it finally ended in a steep wall with many rocks and a tiny trickle of water spilling out between the cracks.

Cloudpaw quickly stepped in front of Darkpaw and scrambled up the first boulder, wet with rain. When he didn't slip, he puffed out his fur and looked out over the other apprentices. "It's easy!" he meowed. "We can make it to the top, no problem."

Darkpaw really wished that Cloudpaw would suddenly slip and fall on his face, but guessed his thick coat would protect him. His pelt rippled in irritation as he quickly scrambled up after Cloudpaw before anyone else could take the position of second, huffing at Eaglepaw when the brown tabby and son of Tigerclaw almost ran into him in an attempt to make it onto the same rock. Eaglepaw flattened his ears, but stubbornly clung on. Darkpaw ascended quickly and gracefully, Eaglepaw scrambling less gracefully up behind him.

The other apprentices followed, with Tawnypaw and Ashpaw trailing behind last, giving each other concerned and confused glances, but staying silent and putting their trust in Darkpaw.

Darkpaw was glad when they reached the top, his muscles protesting the short climb, but he ignored them and checked his shoulder against Cloudpaw's shoulder. "Well, fearless leader," he meowed, fighting to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, "what do you plan to do against the dogs, anyway?"

The white blue-eyed tom blinked owlishly at the forest in front of them, before his gaze drifted to the floor, thoughts blank. "Uhm," he meowed.

Eaglepaw shoved between them. "We don't need a plan. Once the dogs see how many of us there are, they'll turn back and run!"

"I'm sure they would," meowed Darkpaw, fighting to keep his voice smooth. Images of the dogs leaping into the mass of unsuspecting apprentices and them scattering to climb the trees made his blood pound. His fur fluffed up in excitement, and he fought to flatten it. He padded up to Cloudpaw and stared challengingly into his eyes. "You going to lead or what?"

The former kittypet straightened and put on a bold face as he looked at his fellow apprentices, raising his tail high like a flag to show he wasn't afraid. Darkpaw thought he was a fool, but looked away, his gaze falling on Tawnypaw who watched it all with confusion. As Cloudpaw and Eaglepaw took the lead, Darkpaw fell back to pad next to Tawnypaw.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The cream-and-brown she-cat hesitated. "I don't understand what you're trying to do. If we attacked the dogs, we're all bound to get ourselves killed."

"Not so fast," meowed Darkpaw soothingly. "If we need to escape the dogs, we can all just climb trees. They can't climb like we can."

"Yes, but..." Tawnypaw trailed off, unable to come up with a response.

"It's going to be fine," Darkpaw promised. If everything went according to plan, Darkpaw truly believed that the whole Clan would be the better for it. They would become pure and be closer to StarClan as a result.

Frostfur's ghost hissed from the shadows. The _face of darkness shall bathe the forest in blood!_

Shaking away the memory and the sudden anxiety in his belly but failing, Darkpaw fell silent and padded a little slower as the whole patrol made their way to Snakerocks. If he saw his reflection right then, he might have lost it.

"Are you okay?" asked Tawnypaw, concerned. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Darkpaw looked away, wishing Tawnypaw hadn't said that and putting on a burst of speed to get away from her. The forest was unnaturally silent around them - even the distant braying of dogs had stopped. He managed to make it behind Eaglepaw before he finally said, "Cloudpaw-!"

The forest in front of them let out a snarl. The whole patrol suddenly stopped. From between two closely packed tree trunks, a giant heavily brindled golden and brown dog stepped out, his white paws and chest blaze making him stand out among the brown and green. His jowls were like a ThunderClan cat's, thick and drooping, but it's head was square and eyebrows heavily wrinkled with thick rolls of skin. Darkpaw had never seen a dog so big in his entire life. A tiny, cat-sized dog with bug-eyes and cat-ears stood between it's legs, and two other dogs stood on either side of the tree trunks, one with a short golden pelt and thick tail and the other with a glossy red coat and thinner frame.

The entire patrol froze. Darkpaw's heart climbed into his throat. No one said anything or moved.

The tiny dog took a few steps forward and then began barking, a high annoying bark that grated on the ears. Eaglepaw took one step forward and hissed, his tail raised and fur fluffed out. The big dog lunged towards him, jaws agape and big, wet eyes wide, teeth clamping down on the brave cat. Eaglepaw let out a shriek, there was a crunch, and the brown tabby went limp.

Darkpaw blinked, and the entire forest erupted into chaos. The apprentices scattered in panic, some charging at the dogs and other smarter ones racing into the trees. The dogs let out a joyful bark and went in pursuit of the ones running away, completely ignoring the cats left in the clearing.

Meanwhile, the tiny dog yelped when Cloudpaw tackled it, turned and fled, but came racing right back only a heartbeat later, still yapping incessantly. It was almost like a ridiculous joke. No matter what Cloudpaw did, the tiny dog wouldn't leave, but all the other dogs were already gone.

"What happened?" meowed Snowpaw. "Why didn't they attack us?"

Darkpaw couldn't speak, and he decided that he should just thank StarClan that he wasn't dead. Again.

Cloudpaw let out a frustrated and confused yowl, turning away from the tiny dog. "I don't know." He looked at the dead body of Eaglepaw. "No..." He sank beside the body, eyes wide and voice going numb.

Snowpaw glanced at Darkpaw, confused. "Why didn't they attack us?"

Darkpaw shook his head, just as baffled. He turned around, half-expecting the dogs to come running out of the forest to attack them but there was nothing but the distant sound of barking. "I thought dogs were supposed to be bloodthristy. Th-they should have killed us."

"They killed Eaglepaw," meowed Cloudpaw.

Darkpaw felt a hot wave of rage and hatred rush through his fur. "You killed Eaglepaw! You've probably killed everyone else, too!"

"Darkpaw..." meowed Snowpaw. "Cloudpaw didn't kill Eaglepaw, the dog's did."

It sounded so simple, and Darkpaw hissed in frustration at his son-and-brother. "You're an _idiot_! Cloudpaw led the patrol that got Eaglepaw and who knows who else killed!"

Cloudpaw shot up. "The others..." he meowed. "We have to help them."

The black tabby went silent, eyes narrowed, as his mind whirled with dark thoughts and he stared at the blue-eyed white fluffball.

Snowpaw shifted, glancing at Eaglepaw in terror. "How? What can we do against the dogs?"

The former kittypet lashed his tail. "I don't know!" he wailed.

Darkpaw kept his gaze on Cloudpaw. "Perhaps, we should send Snowpaw back to camp. He can get Foxshadow to help us."

"No!" Cloudpaw's fur bushed out as he whipped around, eyes wide, and Darkpaw jerked back at sour yet sweet fear-scent on him. The fluffy white tom seemed to freeze, staring through Darkpaw at nothing.

 _No_ , Darkpaw's instincts screamed, _at something behind me._

Slowly, mechanically, Darkpaw turned around, fur bristling. The big dog had returned, blood dripping from his maw. For a long, slow moment, Darkpaw wondered if that blood just belonged to Eaglepaw or someone else.

His mouth opened without his permission. "Climb the trees!" he yowled, but he remained rooted to the spot.

Behind him, he heard a cat rise and dart off. The dog instantly bolted after them, then someone screamed "No!" and the dog suddenly yelped. When Darkpaw whipped around, a white cat was clinging to the dog's shoulder. The dog's head whipped around and sank into the white cat and ripped them off, sending the white cat flying. Darkpaw watched, heart pounding, as the dog lunged towards the blue-eyed cat. The fluffy white cat struggled to rise, but collapsed. His eyes shot wide as he realized he couldn't stand. In one stride, the dog would be there... at Cloudpaw's throat.

Another white cat slammed into the dog's side, causing it to stop and turn. Snowpaw fluffed out his fur, trying to appear larger. The big dog stared at him in confusion, but he had forgotten about Cloudpaw.

 _No_ , Darkpaw internally screamed, rooted to the spot. _Don't!_

It seemed like forever before the dog moved, practically prancing towards Snowpaw, who was just as frozen as Darkpaw. The big dog was staring at Snowpaw, growling lowly, it's short tail raised aggressively.

And all Darkpaw could do was watch. All the bravery, the strength and courage of StarClan only knows how many generations of cats refused to budge and rise to help his brother, his son in another life, who stood in the path of death. The big dog opened it's slobbering mouth, ready to chomp down on Snowpaw.

"Leave him alone, you big dumb oaf!"

Darkpaw turned slowly to stare at Cloudpaw, blankly watching as the former kittypet clawed towards the dog, his hindlegs shakily trying to stand and half-dragging behind him. The tom was practically screaming, and the dog turned to look at him. "Snowpaw, run!"

Suddenly, the life returned to Darkpaw's limbs, energized by the word _run_. Snowpaw looked uncertain, ready to bolt, but Darkpaw stood up to his full height, charged forward towards the big dog, and slashed his claws into the dog's backleg. The dog yelped and whipped around.

Darkpaw was already bolting for the forest, yowling, "Come get me!"

The dog pursued, his long strides easily closing the gap between the two of them. Darkpaw felt the dog's hot breath on his back and heard its teeth snap as he whipped left and bolted underneath a thick bush. He came out the other side, ignoring the sound of the dog yelping and barking behind him as it whipped itself up into a frenzy. He charged under another bush and practically ran up the side of a tree, hooking his claws on the lowest branch and wrapping his forepaws around it as he pulled himself up as far as he could, before twisting himself up on top of the branch.

A heart beat later, the dog jumped at the tree trunk and bounced up and off it as high as it could go. He was eye-to-eye with the big dog, it's jaws were one fox-length away from him before it began to fall back down. Darkpaw started to pant in relief, until the dog jumped up and down beneath him, forcing to scramble further up on the branch and wrap his tail around his paws.

It felt like a long time passed before the dog stopped jumping and simply stood underneath his tree, watching him, whining at him, blood and slobbery dripping from its mouth. Eventually, some bush rustled and distracted it, and the dog soon forgot about him entirely and began pursuing some other unfortunate animal. Darkpaw didn't wait to see if the dog would return and scrambled down the tree trunk, turned towards ThunderClan camp and ran towards safety. He didn't stop until he was scrambling down the ravine, in the bramble tunnel, and collapsing in relief in camp.

" _Where have you been_?" Mousefur yowled at him.

" _What were you thinking!?_ " Longtail yowled. " _What were any of you thinking?_ "

"Foxshadow-?" Darkpaw managed to croak out.

The two warriors looked at each other, ears flickering uncomfortably.

Finally, Mousefur meowed. "We don't know. She and most of the other warriors went out in the forest to help you. She hasn't been back since this morning."

Darkpaw didn't know what to think of it. The last thing on his mind was killing his mentor. He shook with exhaustion and relief, and he blinked.

"Snowpaw?" he asked.

Longtail shook his head. "We haven't seen any apprentices other than you."

Darkpaw thought about going back out to find him, but his legs shook too much and he didn't want to run into that dog again. He dipped his head until his nose touched the floor. "Eaglepaw is dead. I think Snowpaw and Cloudpaw are still alive, but everyone else scattered. I don't know anything else."

The two warriors absorbed this news in silence. Mousefur dipped her head until her nose touched Darkpaw's ear. "You should go back to the apprentice's den. Wait there until everyone is back in camp. We can sort this out later."

Darkpaw nodded and rose on his shaky paws. He started for the apprentice's den but stopped and headed for the medicine cat's den instead, hoping they could spare some thyme for him. When he stepped into the den, he immediately regretted it. The white medicine cat apprentice reminded him of Snowpaw, and it made his stomachs churn.

"Mistleleaf, can I have some thyme?"

The white she-cat didn't even turn to look at him. "The face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood."

A chill raked down his spine. "W-what?"

She turned and stared at him with her odd-eyes, looking very sad. "You killed them."

The black tabby's legs shook. "Snowpaw... is Snowpaw alive?"

The medicine cat continued to stare at him before swinging her head away. "Darkstripe. Darkpaw. Whoever you are, you've ruined your last chance. It's over for you. Pray to StarClan that she is feeling merciful."

Darkpaw shook. Foxshadow was still alive. Mistleleaf knew, somehow, and it turned his stomach inside out. He swallowed heavily and padded around the medicine cat, searching for thyme. Or a poppyseed. "I need some sleep," he meowed loudly. "I just want some sleep."

"The Dark Forest is real, Darkstripe," she meowed, ignoring him. "Mapleshade is proof enough of this. She has been trying to kill Foxshadow for moons, hoping that when she dies she will come to the Dark Forest and gift them with her powers. But that is not how the spirits of higher beings work. They cannot be commanded, they cannot be forced, they cannot be controlled, and they cannot be tamed. If Foxshadow dies before she is ready, she could turn her anger on StarClan or the Dark Forest."

"Or some thyme," meowed Darkpaw, trying to cut her off before she could say something else that could make his stomach turn. "Anything."

Mistleleaf turned away from him and reached carefully into her herb stores before pulling out a wrap. She unfurled it carefully, keeping the cobweb intact, and pushed towards Darkpaw one single poppyseed. When she looked him in the eye, Darkpaw felt as if she was staring into his soul. "She brought you back to life, Darkpaw, because she felt guilty for your death even though she had nothing to do with it. Remember that the next time you plot to kill her."

His mouth having gone too dry for words, Darkpaw snatched up the poppyseed and swallowed it as he turned to leave. It was still trying to work its way down his throat when he curled up in his nest in the apprentice's den and closed his eyes to sleep.

When he woke, it was to the sound of wailing. He jerked awake and rose to his paws, and he padded out into scene from his nightmares. Eaglepaw, his brother Beepaw, were curled up almost peacefully in the center of the clearing, beside Rainpaw, Sootpaw, two white cats, Runningwind and Swiftwind. Their chests weren't moving.

Darkpaw stood and stared blankly at the dead white cats, afraid to approach in case one of them was Snowpaw. He shook with indescribably terror as he approached them and pressed his nose into their fur. Frostpaw. He smelled his daughter for the last time, wondering if he could have somehow prevented it. His head swiveled to the second white cat. Icepaw. Relief flooded through him, but he immediately felt sick. How can he feel so relieved when his daughters were dead?

He turned away, sickened, and looked over the surviving cats. Cinderheart had a badly twisted and bleeding leg with a dog bite in it, Cloudpaw looked like the big dog had tried to take a chunk out of one of his back legs, and half of Brightface's face was terribly matted with blood. The three seriously injured cats were huddled together near the fern tunnel that led into the medicine cat's den, as Mistleleaf and Yellowfang both worked on them. Thornclaw was nowhere to be seen, and Darkpaw guessed he was in the medicine cat den. He did not want to know what state the tom was in. Instead, he padded over to Tawnypaw, relieved to see someone else who was all right.

Tawnypaw greeted him simply by lifting her head, obviously exhausted. "I tried to wake you," she explained, eyes dull. "Your sisters are dead."

"Eaglepaw and Beepaw are dead, too," he meowed, touching her ear with his nose. He was relieved to feel warm blood pumping beneath her skin. He had nothing else to say and simply sat beside her, pressing into her shoulder, relishing her warmth and closing his eyes to the cold death around him.

A familiar yowl of greeting interrupted him and his head whipped around. Foxshadow emerged from the camp entrance, limping on a barely injured foreleg already wrapped in cobwebs. Behind her, the RiverClan medicine cat and two RiverClan warriors followed. Bluestar was first out to greet them, warmly touching noses with her deputy before addressing the RiverClan cats.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I asked for them to be here," meowed Foxshadow, her gaze sweeping the clearing as she added unhappily, "though I hoped they wouldn't be needed. We are going to need the extra paws Mudfur can provide us if all our injured warriors are going to make it out alive." She adding something quietly to Bluestar and the blue-gray leader nodded.

"Very well," Bluestar meowed. "ThunderClan welcomes RiverClan's aid."

The medicine cat, a dark brown tabby, dipped his head respectfully. "RiverClan is grateful to offer it, Bluestar."

Bluestar nodded and gestured for Foxshadow to follow her into her den. Foxshadow turned to Ravenfeather and Brackenfur, gesturing with her tail and quietly commanding them to watch the RiverClan cats. Darkpaw watched this all in cold silence.

 _I lost so much,_ he thought, _and gained nothing._

* * *

 **A/N: That wraps up one more chapter.**

 **I know I said I would probably be too busy to post another chapter - and I am - but I wrote this like 6 hours after my last post and decided that you guys deserve an update. Also, the next chapter is finished, and part of the chapter after that is finished, so you probably will see another update Thursday. :)  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	59. Rising Storm pt 14

**A/N: A list of surviving and dead apprentices can be found at the end of this chapter. This does not include adult cats that have died. A revised allegiances will be posted in a few chapters.  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Yes! He does feel remorse! Thank you! You're like the only one who has even noticed right now. But Darkpaw's Heel-Face-Turn might be too little... too late.  
**

 **AnonChan1: To be fair, Foxshadow is the only reason Primrosepaw even considered becoming a medicine cat apprentice, and RiverClan desperately needs one considering how old Mudfur is. Sorry Mothkit, but you're too young. (1) They would be cute bouncing bubble-wrap buritos. (2) Yup. If he gets the chance, he might. (3) The dread is sickening. *hugs* (4) He should have listened... to Foxshadow, not just Tawnypaw. (5) My poor brave idiot. I will miss you. (6) Nope, but he may have chipped a hip bone. Ouch. He's not Briarlight levels of bad, omg. (7) Darkpaw... messed up.  
**

 **Frost: Omg, I'm so sorry. Those two dorks would have been amazing characters, but Darkpaw just didn't think things through. I'm sure if he had known, he would never have done it - but arrogance blinded him.  
**

 **Blue LeBone: OMG, thank you for your review! Yeah, the redemption arc for him was pretty much canned the moment he died. And yes, all the apprentices are going to be punished harshly here, with appropriate exceptions. There are literally no excuses. (Though I wouldn't call it an elaborate plan, since he didn't really think it all the way through and it was just "lead away, get them killed".)  
**

 **S1L3NT: (1) Thank you so much! Yup, Darkpaw is an idiot. (2) Hm, I guess it just makes it easier for me to tell the responses and reviews apart. (3) I hope tagging makes it easier on everyone! (4) Lol, yeah. I think there has been occasions where you've updated and I'm just like "Well, I just finished my chapter so I'll just update that, too." It's hilarious.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Yes... but it might already be too late.  
**

 **NightmareTheFoxWitch: Will Foxshadow give him the chance to?**

* * *

Foxshadow waited before seeking out Darkpaw.

She needed to pay her respects during the funeral and make sure everyone was okay before she turned her attention to other things. Second, she wanted to know everything that had happened on the apprentice patrol before she came to a verdict on just how guilty the black tabby was and, besides, she had to figure out if the others were even going to get punishments.

That didn't stop her from glaring at the tom whenever she had the chance to. She knew from the way Darkpaw ducked his head and looked away that he felt guilty for doing something, and she was bound and determined to figure out what that was. If Darkpaw felt guilty for _anything,_ it could be an opportunity to change him... if it didn't condemn him to an even worse punishment than what any of the other apprentices could expect.

Foxshadow was not looking forward to killing the tom. She didn't know how to go about it without being discovered, and she didn't want to be responsible for killing another potential warrior of ThunderClan when so many had already died. In fact, she might not kill Darkpaw at all, but ruin his life some other way. Banishment seemed too light a sentence, however, and it wouldn't help anyone in the long run... especially not Darkpaw.

So for the moment, she turned her attention to preparations for the burial, making sure that everyone pitched in to help bury the bodies since Patchpelt was both the only elder and suffered from hip arthritis, which made it near impossible for him to move without hurting himself. She wanted to keep Patchpelt in camp and have him help the medicine cats instead, since applying poultices and cobwebs didn't require the same amount of heavy lifting that digging did. Frankly, Patchpelt couldn't physically do that anymore. It was the main reason why he was always volunteering for night vigil, which required zero movement. Everyone let him since he really was only a moon older than Bluestar and because he would have been a senior warrior if not for it.

From the bottom of a grave, Foxshadow wiped a smudge of dirt on her white throat, but only smudged further into her coat. With a shrug, she leaped easily out of the hole and padded over to Swiftwind's body to grab him by the scruff and drag him into the grave. She arranged him carefully so he looked like he was sleeping, put a few various mint leaves and heather plants on his head and paws, before climbing back out again. With a final murmured goodbye, she pushed the first pawful of dirt into the grave and sprinkled it over his body. Sucking in a breath, she forced the rest into the grave and buried him. She looked around, noting that Mousefur had already done the same for Runningwind. His grave was parallel to Swiftwind's.

"The fastest cats in ThunderClan are dead," Mousefur meowed, looking sorrowfully at the grave as she sat down to lick her paws clean. "Our strongest warrior is banished, and so many of our apprentices are dead."

"Tigerclaw was not our strongest warrior," meowed Foxshadow. "He was weak where it mattered the most. Our warriors are only strong when they are willing to put themselves on the line for the sake of the Clan."

Mousefur blinked tiredly and nodded.

"Besides, Brightface is one of the fastest cats in ThunderClan, too," meowed Foxshadow. "She was Swiftwind's sister and her bloodline will continue to carry on that speed for generations to come."

"Yes," meowed Mousefur. "I'm sure it will."

Foxshadow blinked. "What's bothering you?"

The dusky brown tabby glanced at Foxshadow and looked away. "I don't know if we can survive with those dogs still running around in the forest."

"This was the result of a stupid decision made by the apprentices," meowed Foxshadow, irked that Mousefur was right about the dogs. She looked at Runningwind's grave and crouched down between the border separating him from his apprentice. "Besides, everyone knows that we were even fortunate for them to be with us for so long. You know that it's more common for only one or two kittens to survive into adulthood. It was just time for them to leave us for StarClan."

"They shouldn't have left us at all," hissed Mousefur, turning around in a circle and staring at the ground. She didn't sit or settle down, so Foxshadow guessed she was just irritated. "They all should have grown up to become warriors."

Foxshadow hummed in agreement. "I'm sure the one responsible for this is going to get what is coming for them."

"They'd better!" The last senior warrior turned once more in a circle, paused and looked at Foxshadow, her eyes narrowed. "I'll claw his ears off myself just to make sure!"

"I won't stop you," meowed Foxshadow evenly. "Just make sure they are the ones who were really responsible. My son may not be Clanborn, but he deserves a hearing and an investigation, just like any other cat. As warriors of ThunderClan, it is our responsibility to make sure we treat our Clanmates fairly and justly no matter where they were born. We have a reputation to uphold and jumping to accusations is only going to tear our Clan apart."

Mousefur relaxed and sat down. "I understand."

The deputy purred and stood up, before nudging her nose against Mousefur's shoulder. "Come on, we should start right away. We can plan on who to interrogate first. We can already mark Bramblepaw and Fernpaw off the list because they were both in camp the entire time. In fact, they should both be commended on it, even if it was the other cats who thought they should be excluded."

The warrior frowned in disapproval. "We would be rewarding the apprentices for doing nothing."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, purring.

"Except, they should have told us the moment they left," meowed Mousefur, "instead of Longtail having to find out."

Foxshadow's whiskers drooped. "Makes sense," she meowed. _I guess I'll have to find some other way to make Bramblepaw a warrior._ "You should start with Snowpaw. He's open and honest. I'll start with Cloudpaw. I know that tom better than even his own mentor."

"I agree," meowed Mousefur. "We can talk about what we discovered tonight."

The massive she-cat stood up. "Good. We should get to it as soon as we can." She turned to the other warriors, most of whom had already stopped digging. "Who's left to bury?"

A fiery red tabby rose on his paws and looked around tiredly. "No one," he meowed.

Foxshadow nodded to Fireheart and turned away. "Let's get back to camp and prepare the hunting patrols. I'm sure Patchpelt and our injured warriors are starving."

The patrol murmured their agreement as they padded out of the dirt back to camp, with Foxshadow, Mousefur and Fireheart quickly taking the lead. Foxshadow turned to Fireheart, and whispered her plan to him. "I need you to talk to Bramblepaw and figure out if he or Fernpaw knows anything about who might have instigated this."

Fireheart nodded. "Are the apprentices going to be in trouble?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "All of them."

The green-eyed tabby lowered his gaze. "Haven't they been punished enough already?"

"No," the she-cat growled. "They haven't been punished. Their actions have punished the _entire Clan_ , not just them, causing everyone to suffer and other cats to die, and they must now pay for it."

"I suppose..." meowed Fireheart, growing quiet.

Foxshadow nodded. They reached the camp, silent after a day of mourning and taking care of the injured. Her gaze swept the clearing, landing briefly on Ravenfeather who was curled around a wide-eyed Cinderheart, and Cloudpaw and Brightface who were curled close to each other. The deputy gave a nod to Mousefur before padding under the shade of the Highrock and yowling at the Clan. "Fireheart, Goldenflower, Sandstorm, Bramblepaw, Fernpaw, report to me at once!"

The mentioned cats rose to their paws and quickly gathered in front of Foxshadow. The deputy blinked. "Since both Bramblepaw and Fernpaw have already had their assessments and passed, I expect you all to treat them like warriors for this hunting patrol. That is, if you two can handle the responsibility."

The two apprentices nodded, tail lashing in excitement. Foxshadow nodded to herself, pleased. "And this time, if you think there is something wrong, you should report it to your mentors immediately."

Their faces flashed in guilt but they hardened in serious acceptance. Foxshadow purred and dismissed them with a wave of her tail. "Make sure to bring back whatever you can find."

Making a mental note to speak with Bluestar about one day fighting for Sunningrocks, Foxshadow turned her attention to Cloudpaw. The white tom was small beside Brightface, as he cleaned her ear and neck on the side of her face which was covered in cobwebs.

"Brightface," meowed Foxshadow, waiting for Brightface's head to swivel around, eye wide, and look at her before dipping her head. "Is it all right if I borrow my son for a moment?"

The injured warrior hesitated, her single eye straining to see over her own nose at Cloudpaw, who continued sharing tongues as if Foxshadow hadn't said anything. Finally, Brightface gave a tiny nod, tail flicking nervously. Cloudpaw glanced at Foxshadow, seemed to understand he was in trouble, and stood up slowly, head down and tail trailing. His hindlegs shook with the effort and, for a moment, Foxshadow worried he wouldn't be able to stand. Thoughts of Briarlight flashed through her mind. Wincing, Foxshadow turned away and led him into the prisoner's den, lying down in her old nest, before turning her head to stare at Cloudpaw, her face expressionless.

The white tom shifted in the unbearably quiet and small space for a few seconds before he meowed, "Mom-"

"Shh," hissed Foxshadow angrily. "I'm thinking."

She had already made up her mind about what she was going to do, however, and just watched Cloudpaw shift and stare at his paws in his guilt. Finally, Cloudpaw murmured quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Are you apologizing to me?" asked Foxshadow, her ears flicking angrily. "Because I'm not the one here you've hurt."

Cloudpaw hunched down until he was crouching, refusing to look at Foxshadow's glowing sun-gold gaze. "I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' doesn't fix this, Cloudpaw. 'Sorry' doesn't bring everyone who died back." Foxshadow lifted her head, trying to ignore Cloudpaw as the tom shook and a tiny, mournful wail escaped him. Her throat tightened. "How am I or anyone supposed feel about this? Half our apprentices are dead, two of our best warriors are dead, and all because of what?" Foxshadow shook her head. "Why did you do this, Cloudpaw?"

"I wanted to be made a warrior like you were," meowed Cloudpaw.

The deputy stared at Cloudpaw. "If you had done your chores, practiced like every other apprentice and waited with the patience of a warrior for your warrior ceremony, you would have been made a warrior on time. Now, who knows? How can we trust a cat who just lead all our apprentices to their deaths? It could take seasons before you are made a warrior after the stunt you just pulled. What were you thinking?"

The white tom whimpered. "I just wanted to be a warrior."

Foxshadow snarled. "You _weren't_ thinking. If you had really wanted to be a warrior, you would have followed Bramblepaw's example and _stayed_."

Cloudpaw murmured something Foxshadow couldn't hear and she rose, taking a step toward her son.

"What did you say?" she meowed lowly, her face so close to his that their whiskers were touching.

"We left him behind," murmured Cloudpaw, turning his head away. "We knew he wouldn't come."

Foxshadow kinked her tail over her back. "And Fernpaw?"

"She would have sided with him. She likes him."

Foxshadow lashed her tail. "I doubt Fernpaw would see it that way, since three of her brothers went and now two of them are dead. If she had the choice, I'm sure she would have wanted to be there to protect them however she could. You've robbed her of this. Worst of all, you made a decision as if you were a leader of this Clan, and it cost us their lives."

Cloudpaw didn't move and said nothing.

Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything else, Foxshadow sat down and meowed, "You're uncle wanted me to not punish you or any of the other apprentices for this. He thought you'd been punished enough. Do you know what I told him?"

Cloudpaw gave a tiny shake of his head, refusing to look at Foxshadow.

"I told him that it was the apprentices who have punished _ThunderClan_. So this is my punishment for you. Since you are no longer worthy of your status as an apprentice, you will return to the nursery and spend the rest of your apprenticeship taking care of all the warriors your stupidity has injured. Am I understood?"

"Yes, mom," murmured Cloudpaw.

"Look at me in the eye and tell me as deputy of ThunderClan that I can trust your word on _this_!" Foxshadow hissed, raising her head.

The small white tom shuddered and looked up into Foxshadow's glaring eyes. "Yes, Foxshadow. I promise I won't do anything like this again."

The massive she-cat nodded and dipped her head so she could touch noses with her adopted son. "The Clan won't be so forgiving, Cloudpaw. As my son, even if not by blood, I expect more from you. I don't want you to argue with Darkpaw anymore, even if he can be an annoying furball."

Cloudpaw nodded, fur flattening. He looked sober and tired. "Can I go now?"

Foxshadow sighed, before sticking her tail out to stop him from leaving in a hurry. "Just one last question. Did Darkpaw say anything to you before you and the other apprentices left?"

The white tom blinked as his brow furrowed in confusion, and he looked away.

"A warrior is honest," meowed Foxshadow carefully, "even if it could get his fellow warrior in trouble."

The apprentice lowered his head. "Yes, mom. He said that if we did something even you couldn't do, it would make us warriors faster."

Foxshadow gave one long slow blink and she gave a stiff nod. "Thank you, Cloudpaw. Your punishment begins in a moon, and you'll stay in the medicine cat den or here in the prisoner's den until then." She looked him over, noted his reluctance to rise to his paws, and meowed. "You should tell Yellowfang about your hindlegs. It could be bruising in just the right place that is making it difficult for you to walk. Just remember to exercise it once you're released from the medicine cat den. Understood?"

Cloudpaw gave her a strange look but nodded. "Yes, mom."

"Good," Foxshadow meowed, letting out a relieved purr and pressing her nose into his shoulder fur. "I'm glad you're alive." She pulled away, noticing his ears turn red with embarrassment and his lips tighten even though he was too tired to complain. "I will inform your mentor and Bluestar of your punishment before tonight."

With a quick nod, the former kittypet turned and left, padding quickly across the clearing and out of sight. Foxshadow stayed behind, brows furrowed as she thought over what Cloudpaw had said. Finally, she rose to her paws and padded out into camp, her gaze scanning the camp and halting on her apprentice, who was pressed into Tawnypaw. She sank her claws into the ground, her eyes hooded in thought, and she carefully thought over her options. When she noticed Mousefur padding towards her from the medicine cat den, Foxshadow gestured for her to join her in the prisoner's den. They ducked inside.

Foxshadow gestured with her tail for her to speak and Mousefur began in a whisper.

"Snowpaw tells me that the dogs attacked the other apprentices because they ran away. He, Cloudpaw and Darkpaw were still in the clearing where they first saw the dogs."

Foxshadow blinked and admonished herself for not asking about what had actually happened during the fight. "Do you believe him?"

Mousefur shifted. "What did Cloudpaw say?"

"I never asked. I was more concerned with what happened before," Foxshadow meowed, looking guiltily at Mousefur. "I wanted to know who instigated it."

The brown warrior snorted. "Well, we can ask Darkpaw then."

Foxshadow shook her head. "What else did Snowpaw say? Did he tell you anything about Darkpaw?"

"No," meowed Mousefur. "I didn't think to ask."

"Well," meowed Foxshadow, "I heard from Cloudpaw that it was Darkpaw who suggested the idea. Darkpaw told them that if they did something even I couldn't do, it would make them warriors faster."

The brown warrior shifted uncomfortably. "You should never have been made a warrior like that if this is the result."

"I agree," Foxshadow meowed. Thoughts of Darkstripe's laziness and Tigerclaw's training danced through her head and she frowned. How else would she have become a warrior? She didn't like the idea of Tigerclaw having the final say on whether she would have become a warrior. "But we can do nothing about that now. I believe that Darkpaw might have done it in an attempted to kill someone."

"Who?" asked Mousefur. "Cloudpaw?"

Foxshadow blinked and dipped her head. Cloudpaw hadn't been the first cat to come to mind. "They have had a rivalry since they were kits." An image of a tiny, newly born Darkkit scratching Cloudkit twice, and Willowpelt mistaking it for a thorn flashed through her mind. Her face grew dark. "We should speak with the other apprentices before we come to a conclusion, however."

Letting a frustrated noise, Mousefur relented. "I'll speak to Ashpaw."

"I'll speak to Tawnypaw," meowed Foxshadow. "Remember that they are Darkpaw's friends and they might cover for him or try to explain why he said things for him. We just need confirmation that he said it."

Mousefur nodded. "I'm guessing you don't want to ask anymore questions about the battle."

Foxshadow paused. "We probably should. If any of the apprentices died because of Tigerclaw's interference and not the dogs, I'm sure Bluestar will want to hear it. But I doubt Tigerclaw would be anywhere near the dogs."

With a final nod and a wave of her tail, Mousefur padded out of the den. The massive black-brown, ginger and white she-cat hesitated a brief second before marching across the clearing towards Tawnypaw and Darkpaw.

"Tawnypaw," she meowed. "I would like to speak with you. Alone."

Darkpaw shot to his paws. "Why?" His tail lashed anxiously behind him.

Deciding not to comment on how suspicious Darkpaw was being, Foxshadow merely flicked an ear and meowed to Tawnypaw. "If you're up for it, I would like to ask you some questions about what happened before you left to attack the dogs."

The tortoiseshell was too tired to argue and didn't seemed to notice Darkpaw's mood. "Sure," she meowed, rising to her paws.

With a gesture for Tawnypaw to follow, Foxshadow led the apprentice into the prisoner's den and turned to look the tired she-cat over. "I want you to ask some questions about what happened, okay?"

She nodded.

"A day before you left on your patrol, Cloudpaw and Bramblepaw were arguing, correct?" Foxshadow waited as Tawnypaw nodded. "When Bramblepaw left, Darkpaw spoke to Cloudpaw, correct?" The apprentice nodded again. "Darkpaw told Cloudpaw that they were more likely to be made warriors if they did something as amazing as I did, such as defeat a dog. Correct?"

Tawnypaw furrowed her brow but nodded. "Is that all?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "Thank you for your time."

As Tawnypaw left the prisoner's den, Foxshadow narrowed her eyes. She fully extended her claws and looked at her thick black paw pad.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Mousefur, stepping into the den. "I spoke with Ashpaw. He confirms that Darkpaw spoke with Cloudpaw after Bramblepaw left."

"Bramblepaw never knew about their plans then," meowed Foxshadow. "He is guilt free."

"So is Fernpaw," Mousefur meowed. "She wasn't even there at the meeting. Ashpaw says that she was eating outside at the time after the night patrol, and Goldenflower confirmed it."

"Good," meowed Foxshadow. "I think you and I can both agree that we have lost too many apprentices already and that we can't afford to lose anymore. As a result, we should not advocate for their exile or have put them to death."

Mousefur sneered. "What about Cloudpaw? He dragged the other cats into this. If he hadn't gone alone, they wouldn't have died."

The deputy hesitated and dipped her head. "You are right, of course, but under that logic Darkpaw would have to die as well. Then we would be down eight apprentices instead of six."

"But we would be sure that the survivors wouldn't try to kill each other," meowed Mousefur.

"Then we should exile the one who has been least useful to the Clan, who everyone hates, and who is primarily responsible for instigating all of this."

Mousefur stared at her, perplexed. "Cloudpaw?"

Foxshadow shook her head. "Darkpaw. I know my apprentice, and I know my son. Every fight between them was always started by Darkpaw. It is obvious that his hatred of kittypets has blinded him to the value of all cats, within and without the Clan. We need to make an example of him and have him exiled."

"But what about Cloudpaw? He's just as guilty!"

"All this means is that it is obvious that, despite Cloudpaw's obvious charisma, he is not suitable for a position of leadership," Foxshadow corrected. "But, because of his stupidity, I have decided he will spend the rest of his apprenticeship in the elders' den and take good care of the injured cats. I do not know how long his apprenticeship will be because of it, but I think it is reasonable to assume it will be at least until Brindleface's current litter are warriors."

"That's only five moons away, at least."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "We will have four new apprentices in a moon, and we need to make sure they understand exactly what they must do as a result of this. We must reward the good behavior and punish the bad."

"Right."

"So, Bramblepaw and Fernpaw will be made warriors, and the others' apprenticeship will be delayed."

"But that isn't enough," Mousefur growled. "They deserve a worse punishment."

"Like Cloudpaw's?"

"Yes."

Foxshadow shifted and glanced at the entrance to the den, her thoughts searching for some creative punishment that wouldn't be too cruel or unusual. She let out a sigh. "All apprentices will be confined to camp for the remainder of their apprenticeships. They will not be allowed to leave the camp until they are made warriors. Their apprentice ceremonies will also be delayed for another three moons, or at least until they have proven they can act responsible. They will sleep in the elder's den and take care of the injured warriors until they are healed. Bramblepaw's and Fernpaw's apprentice ceremonies will not be affected."

"And Darkpaw?"

Foxshadow blinked. "Darkpaw will be exiled for murder." _...if I don't think of something else or kill him first._

The senior warrior and best hunter in ThunderClan nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"I'll propose the plan to Bluestar at once and she will have the final say." Foxshadow's shoulders slumped. "I doubt she will have the heart to actually do what is necessary. Sometimes, she's too soft."

* * *

 **A/N: I know I'm not going to have time to finish the next chapter for at least another week. I have so much to do that I'm tired just thinking about it. Hopefully, I'll time this Sunday to do something about it. Until then, I decided to post this. Probably should have posted this yesterday. Eh, too tired to care.  
**

 **Surviving Apprentices List:  
\- Snowpaw  
\- Cloudpaw  
\- Darkpaw  
\- Ashpaw  
\- Tawnypaw  
\- Fernpaw  
\- Bramblepaw**

 **Deceased Apprentice List:  
\- Eaglepaw ******(Bramblepaw's brother)  
** \- Beepaw (Bramblepaw's brother)  
\- Sootpaw (Fernpaw's brother)  
\- Rainpaw (Fernpaw's brother)  
\- Frostpaw (Darkpaw's sister/daughter)  
\- Icepaw (Darkpaw's sister/daughter)**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	60. Rising Storm pt 15

**A/N: Darkpaw's story arc ends here! What is to be his fate?  
**

 **Gamelover41492: Excellent review! :)**

 **AnonChan1: (A) Actually, chopping a leg off would just mean he's destined to become a medicine cat, by Clan standards, while rippinng an eye out wouldn't hinder his warrior abilities at all - One-eye and Brightheart are prime examples of that. Besides, three-legged and one-eyed cats can still do anything a normal cat does, just with a minor disability. It's not like with humans were we only have two legs, and three legged cats have been known to get around pretty well, albeit there's a slight difference between cats with their third leg still attached and not. I'm not planning to make Brightface, Cinderheart, Cloudpaw, and Thornclaw elders early or medicine cats because of their injuries - Patchpelt alone proves that, no matter what might cause a cat to retire early, they can still pull their own weight around the Clan even if all that means is vigils. To make them medicine cats would a classic Erin Hunter blunder, imo. (B) Cloudpaw gets 45% of the blame, tbh. He led the patrol, he followed through with the idea, despite trying to make amends near the end of it. Cost him a little bit of mobility in his leg, making Foxy's reasoning for bringing him into the Clan in the first place (because he'd make a great hunter in leafbare) kind of mute. He really screwed up a lot of stuff. (C) Exactly. I'm glad you caught that. I honestly think Fireheart's response to Brightheart's name change to Lostface was very appropriate, but he did from the standpoint of pacifism, which is not acceptable in any other situation. Even he has to concede that Cloudpaw and the other deserve to be punished. (D) Darkpaw's punishment begins in this chapter...**

 **S1L3NT: (1) Yeah, so many weird things in this story. It's crazy that I can keep track of so much info. (2) She doesn't have much personality - kind of like Runningwind - and any personality that does appear in the books can be handwaved as them having a bad day or something like that. In short, they are whatever you want them to be. Just make sure you have basic idea of what you want their character to be before you write them, as well as possibly allude to their personalities in the book. I failed to do that with Runningwind, omg. (3) Bluestar's actions... are revealed in this chapter! lol. (4) Yeah, lol. I hope to see your update soon! [I wrote this like Monday so you might have already updated lol]**

 **WolfWriter123: (Ch58) (1) Ehh, I normally don't follow canon (when it comes to my stories and plots that can be frankly impossible) but I usually follow canon only in so far as to show how it could have been done differently. Cinderpelt became a medicine cat because she was crippled, but Cinderheart was a warrior first, and will continue to be a warrior and then queen afterwards despite her injuries. Brightheart lost half her face to dogs, became Lostface, was temporarily treated like a useless elder, before being named Brightheart after Fireheart became leader, all because her boyfriend wanted to prove himself a warrior due to Bluestar's failure to make him one. But here Brightface earned her warrior name before losing half her face while trying to protect the remaining apprentices. Sure, Brightface's storyline isn't that big of a divergence from canon, but Cinderheart's is. Especially since Mistlekit survived, became Mistleleaf, and is destined to become Medicine cat after Yellowfang dies. (2) Frostpaw and Icepaw wanted to come along, as was first mentioned when Darkpaw first brought up the plan to Cloudpaw, but Beepaw is just a shadow. He's a bit of a coward, which causes him to hang back, and was one of the first apprentices to bolt. His shining character moment was back when he was kit, shouting from behind his littermates, "I'm brave, too!" (Ch59) (1) Nah, yer fine. :) (2) Hmm, I think this could be a communication error on my part. Foxy isn't dead set on killing Darkpaw (she believes she's partially responsible for him coming back) but she doesn't like the fact that Darkpaw, of all cats, was reincarnated to get a his second chance when other cats better deserved it. She doesn't think ThunderClan will survive Darkpaw's vendetta against her, so she wants to get rid of him. I don't think Tigerclaw is even currently on her mind, and he was, she would probably assume that, because Darkpaw claimed to have seen Tigerclaw run from the dogs, that they are already working together even if she can't prove it. I'm spitballing here, since the characters tend to act very differently than I first hypothesize due to the nuance of what is going on. If that makes sense. P:  
**

 **Stormbreeze: Awww, I'm sorry! Poor Swiftwind. But at least he died a warrior of ThunderClan, like he deserved in the first series! Honestly, Longtail should have done the Woldfang/Badgerfang thing and just named the kid himself. :/**

 **Catlover49: (1) They aren't light-speed ninjas, lol. They survived the run with Ravenfeather and the others, but when they went back to attack the dogs, they did the masculine thing and threw themselves into the middle of a battle they couldn't hope to win. Like magnificent idiots. :,( (2) If everyone agrees that Cloudpaw and Bramblepaw argued and then Bramblepaw left, it clears Bramblepaw's name. If only one person disagrees, they know that person is a liar and their testimony would be thrown out. That is just two reasonings. There's is a WHOLE bunch more, but I think this is enough.**

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush: Ugh, yeah, that "slow-end" crap. I hate it in any fiction. Death is sudden, brutal, and shouldn't be sugar-coated. Just ask the apprentices.  
**

* * *

Darkpaw waited nervously where Tawnypaw and Foxshadow had left him, the anxiety of not knowing eating at him. Guilt gnawed at his belly and his face twisted in an uncomfortable expression whenever he thought of his daughters. His entire world seemed to be spinning away out from under him, and he felt almost as weak as newborn kit. He felt like a failure. He had killed his own daughters, instead of Cloudpaw or Foxshadow. And now Foxshadow was speaking to Tawnypaw, and he had no idea what the former loner was saying to Tawnypaw.

Eventually, the cream-and-brown tabby returned, and Foxshadow wished her a good day. Darkpaw noted that Foxshadow pointedly avoided saying such a greeting to him, and that only made him more uncomfortable. He looked hopefully at Tawnypaw. "What did she say?"

"She was justing asking about what happened before we left," meowed Tawnypaw.

Darkpaw's heart began to pound faster. "Did she ask about me?"

"Yeah, she did," Tawnypaw meowed, her brows furrowing. "She asked me about what you said to Cloudpaw."

The black tabby's blood froze. "What did you say?"

"I said what you said," meowed Tawnypaw, tail waving slowly as she looked at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

He swallowed. "Yes, I'm fine." His tail-tip twitched nervously.

The tortoiseshell nodded and pressed into his side, her mind quickly going elsewhere. Darkpaw wished he could get lost in his thoughts, but every few seconds he would look around, waiting for Foxshadow to appear to give him his punishment. Foxshadow's last words to him echoed in his mind, just as it had in his dreams.

 _This is your last chance, Darkpaw. There won't be a next time._

"I'm tired," Tawnypaw meowed. "I think I'm gonna go rest. Goodnight, Darkpaw."

Darkpaw felt his blood freeze, and he shot up and quickly padded after her. "I'll join you," he meowed, trying to force his stride to be graceful instead of shaky. "I could use some rest."

Tawnypaw nodded absently and padded into the den to curl into her nest. Darkpaw joined her, but he couldn't fall asleep. His ears and eyes were on the apprentice's den, waiting for Foxshadow's dark face to appear, framed by a halo of ginger fur, to give him the final verdict.

* * *

"All Cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Bluestar's call rang through Darkpaw's ears. He rose to his paws slowly, his breath coming in short gasps. He jabbed his paw into Tawnypaw to wake her up and, not trusting himself to speak, gestured silently with his tail for her to follow him outside.

They found the whole Clan gathered there, even the injured warriors, but the apprentices were in the middle with a wide berth around them. Mousefur, Ravenfeather, and Brackenfur had gathered together, now apprenticeless. Darkpaw guessed that they were going to give Ashpaw a new mentor soon, but realized that wasn't the point of this meeting.

Bluestar's gaze swept the clearing, her icy-blue gaze staring into Darkpaw. Darkpaw shuddered in terror at the look of pure hatred in her eyes. When their leader spoke, her voice was deceptively calm. "What happened was a tragedy," she meowed. "I have never seen anything like it in all the seasons I have been leader of ThunderClan. We cannot forget what has happened, and we cannot allow the perpetrators of this act to go unpunished. The apprentices who have lost their lives and their chances to become warriors deserve our just response. I have spoken with my senior warrior and my deputy, and we have come to a conclusion."

Darkpaw's eyes were as wide as the full moon.

"We should first remember that this is not the end of ThunderClan. We are strong, and soon we will become stronger. We will have four new apprentices in a moon. However, we need to make sure they understand that this behavior will not be tolerated. We have lost too many apprentices, and we can't afford to lose any more." Bluestar dipped her head. "We cannot banish any of our apprentices or put them to death."

Darkpaw let out a relieved breath, but when he looked around, he noticed that most of the warriors were not happy with this decision, tails twitching angrily for Bluestar to keep speaking. From her place in the Highrock's shadow, the ThunderClan deputy's eyes glowed and narrowed as she stared at him. Darkpaw licked his lips and swallowed.

"But that does not mean those responsible for this tragedy will not be punished!" Bluestar's gaze swept the clearing. "All the apprentices who went on this patrol will be retiring to the elder's den for the remainder of their apprenticeship. They will be assigned to a warrior to take care of and spend the rest of their apprenticeship taking care of them."

The Clan erupted into quiet murmurs, some purring in satisfaction and others growling about how soft the punishment was. Darkpaw shifted on his paws, trying not to look at Foxshadow, who was glaring holes into his fur.

"One of our apprentices must be assigned a new mentor," meowed Bluestar. "Brackenfur, you will take care of Ashpaw's training."

The pale brown tom nodded silently. No one looked at Ashpaw or congratulated Brackenfur. There was nothing to be cheered about any of it. If Swiftwind hadn't died, Ashpaw wouldn't have been given to his dead brother's mentor.

"Mom isn't happy," meowed Tawnypaw quietly, ears flat and whiskers drooping.

Darkpaw's gaze drifted to the two queens who had raised them, Goldenflower and Willowpelt. Brindleface was with them, her kits cuddling the much larger cats, their wide eyes staring around at the camp in confusion. Darkpaw felt his stomach twist, memories of Frostpaw and Icepaw swirling in his head.

"Where is Snowpaw?" whispered Darkpaw.

"With Sandstorm."

The pale cream-and-gray tabby she-cat was a tail's length away from Snowpaw, refusing to look down at the white apprentice. Snowpaw hung his head low and stared up at the highrock, his gaze occasionally drifting to Sandstorm. Darkpaw winced and looked down, shifting his forepaws.

But Bluestar wasn't finished. "I will not delay their warrior ceremonies. Our Clan needs warriors, now more than ever."

The Clan exploded in an uproar, various cats yowling out their displeasure.

"How can we trust these apprentices will behave as warriors when they've killed our Clanmates?" Dustpelt yowled. "Thornclaw could be dying because of them! Brightface can't see out of one of her eyes anymore! Cinderheart is crippled!"

Yowls of agreement echoed through the camp. Darkpaw could practically feel Foxshadow's eyes snap up to Bluestar, eyes narrowed angrily. The black tabby was instantly reminded of Tigerclaw, staring at Bluestar with that same expression. He stared at the she-cat in growing realization.

 _She looks just like Tigerclaw..._

Darkpaw blinked. The entire camp was suddenly covered in a deep fog. When he moved his paw, the fog didn't swirl around him like he expected, but remained frozen. He looked up and around. How did the fog move in so quickly?

"And finally, it is time we talked about Bramblepaw and Fernpaw. They did not participate in the patrol and, like us, were kept in the dark about Cloudpaw and Darkpaw's plans. As a result, I have decided that it is time for them to become warriors."

The whole camp became quiet. Bluestar gestured for the two apprentices to step forward. Darkpaw stared blankly at Bramblepaw, his broad shoulders looking less like Tigerclaw's than he imagined it would. Fernpaw looked nothing like her father, Whitestorm, but she had her mother's green eyes. Darkpaw wondered if Frostpaw or Icepaw would have looked like their mother when they were made warriors.

"You have both shown the qualities of a warrior. You have shown exceptional dedication to the warrior code, obedience to your mentors, and great skill in your trainer. Because of this, my deputy and I have decided to make you both warriors." She looked up into the sky and yowled. "I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these noble apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

She looked at Bramblepaw. "Bramblepaw, Fernpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan even at the cost of your life?"

Bramblepaw dipped his head. "I do."

Fernpaw shifted, but there was no excitement in the motion. "I-I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Bramblepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Brambleclaw. StarClan honors your nobility and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Bluestar leaped down from the Highrock, and Brambleclaw stepped forward to lick her shoulder. He sat down.

Bluestar looked at the spotted she-cat. "Fernpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Fernspots. StarClan honors your kindness and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

There was silence in the camp. Foxshadow stood up quickly and yowled.

"Brambleclaw! Fernspots!"

A heartbeat later, Mousefur joined in, followed by Fireheart, Dustpelt and Ravenfeather. Soon, the whole Clan was chanting their names, except for Longtail and the apprentices. Darkpaw could almost feel the sting of the moment, but he knew deep down that he would never become a warrior now. When he glanced at Ashpaw, he was shocked to see true rage on Ashpaw's face. A fire seemed to burn in his eyes, dark and black, and it sent a shiver down Darkpaw's spine. He was even scarier than Tigerclaw - _not that Tigerclaw was ever scary_. Darkpaw looked away, shuddering.

"That is all!" yowled Bluestar, but she sounded far away.

Darkpaw shifted close to the tortoiseshell she-cat and turned to look at her. Tawnypaw just looked shocked, mouth agape and eyes wide, before shame made her close her mouth and duck her head. Something white out of the corner of his eyes made him stare passed her at the queens. He recognized Frostfur's white pelt among their small pile, her blue eyes blinking eerily in the fog and her fur shining with starlight. Two other smaller white she-cats were with her, looking sad as they stared at him. Darkpaw felt his whole body freeze in shock and terror.

Tawnypaw was too caught up in her own emotions to notice. Darkpaw's jaws clicked shut and he tore his gaze away, fur fluffed up. The fog had disappeared in a blink, and he shook with barely controlled horror.

Tawnypaw didn't look at him. "I'm going to go speak with Bramblepaw. You should talk to Snowpaw."

"I. Will," meowed Darkpaw in gasps, watching Tawnypaw stand and pad away. "Try."

He would never get the chance to.

Foxshadow emerged from the crowd surrounding the new warriors, her gaze hardened with purpose, and Darkpaw knew what she was going to do. He recognized that look on Brokenstar, Tigerclaw, and even the tortoiseshell she-cat from the Dark Forest. If it was even possible, that look alone would have killed him.

"Darkpaw," she ordered, "come with me."

His voice squeaked, his legs shook, his stomach twisted, but he stood up obediently. "Yes, Foxshadow."

They skirted around the crowd and left through the bramble tunnel, Darkpaw following Foxshadow like a tiny shadow. His stomach felt as if it dragged across the ground behind them, and he trailed behind as Foxshadow ate the terrain with her long legs. The black-brown, ginger and white she-cat paused to glance back, to wait for Darkpaw to catch up, before continuing at half her first pace. Darkpaw slowed even more.

They exited ThunderClan territory into the neutral stretch of territory surrounding Fourtrees, passing the Oak Tree, until they reached the gravely twoleg passage runnning from RiverClan territory to Fourtrees, zigzagging like a startled rabbit through the tall grasses to surround the great valley where the Gatherings were held. Two day old stench of dog hung in the air, and Darkpaw's ears perked at the distant sound of falls. They were walking side-by-side of the gorge, and they came to a stop at a spot where the gorge was most narrow, the mist from the fog rolling over the edges of the gorge into the territory around them.

"This is where I led the dogs off the cliff," Foxshadow meowed, sounding angry. "This was where we were supposed to lead the dogs today, at dusk. Runningwind, Swiftwind, Brightface, Ravenfeather, and me were supposed to have trained for this moment. Because of you, we have lost half our apprentices, two of our fastest warriors, and possibly more to injuries. ThunderClan went from being one of the strongest Clans in this forest to one of the weakest, all because of you and your vendetta against Cloudpaw and me."

Darkpaw stared down at the long gorge, trying to wrap his head around the fact that Foxshadow survived a fall from here, when the river was at its highest. His gaze drifted to her leg, wrapped in cobwebs, and barely holding up her weight. He could not bring himself to find joy in the possibility that Foxshadow would be crippled for the rest of her life.

"You speak of your pride for your Clanblood, but face the facts. You've spilled more Clanblood than I, Fireheart or Cloudpaw ever had. You've destroyed ThunderClan."

The wind howled, lifting the fog up and around them. The air was warm but Darkpaw felt cold. "W-what are you going to do?"

Foxshadow's eyes flashed with the light of the sun. "I am going to retire as deputy of ThunderClan, thanks to you. I am going to have kits, like I always wanted, and hope that my litter will be large enough to make up for our losses today and strong enough to survive the harsh leaf-bare that is only six moons away. Fireheart is going to take my position as deputy, as was prophesied before your death as Darkstripe. I am going to encourage Sandstorm, Cinderheart, Brightface and anyone else who has a mate to have kits now, while newleaf is still upon us, where our kits can get strong enough. That's what I'm going to do."

The fog surrounded him now. Darkpaw's head swam, and he felt weak. He swore he was seeing cats in the fog, looking at him, moving their mouths in quiet mews he couldn't hear. "What about me?"

"This was your last chance, Darkpaw," meowed the massive she-cat ominously, sitting and wrapping her tail around her paws. "What do you think?"

 _You're going to kill me_ , he thought, his mouth clicking shut and refusing to open.

The deputy of ThunderClan's eyes narrowed. "You should be dead. By all rights, you shouldn't even be alive. What happened today was just as much my responsibility as yours, so I have to make sure it never happens to ThunderClan again." She raised her head. "Let StarClan hear my voice for I have much to say. I do not speak for all cats in ThunderClan nor do I speak as their deputy, but as a warrior, sworn to protect the Clan even at the cost of my life, limb, and reputation! This apprentice and former warrior has broken the heart of the warrior code, has put his own wants above it and the needs of his Clanmates! This has resulted in the death of my Clanmates, who were his as well, and I cannot in good conscious trust this cat to remain in the Clan where he may cause more death and suffering, all for his own ends.

"The warrior code stipulates that an honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense! Today, I will uphold the oath I made when I became warrior of ThunderClan, and I call on the right of every warrior to defend themselves and their Clanmates!"

The cliff fell silent. Darkpaw braced himself, closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitable.

"If you consider yourself a warrior, Darkstripe," meowed Foxshadow, her voice low and threatening, "defend yourself."

Then Foxshadow raised her voice. "For Brightface."

Claws, long and sharp, slashed across half his face and he screamed. Darkpaw's eyes flew open and his heart seemed to explode at the sight of Foxshadow crouching before him, her teeth bared in a snarl, blood dripping from her right paw's claws. Then he was darting right, away from the cliff, as her long claws slashed for his side, tugging gently at his skin and leaving tiny welts under his dark coat. The black tabby bolted forward, racing as fast as he could, as far away from Foxshadow and ThunderClan as he could, the snarling she-cat rapidly closing the distance between them.

"For Cinderheart!"

Her teeth connected with his hindleg, and he shrieked as he was dragged to the ground, a tail-length away from the WindClan border, Foxshadow's strong jaws crunching, snapping, bone. He screamed and kicked, writhing as he bit and kicked. His claws connected with her eye and she shrieked, releasing him.

"For Thornclaw!"

He scrambled for the border and shrieked when Foxshadow bit his tail, teeth scraping against bone. He fought against the pain, struggling to reach the border, away from the angry she-cat breaking his body, his hindlegs kicking and colliding with her nose. She let go with a growl.

He took three strides and crossed the border, his heart pounding as he scrambled through the grass, leaving a blood trail behind him where his broken leg dragged, struggling to put as much distance between himself and Foxshadow as he climbed the slope. He bolted into a patch of heather, rolling briefly to disguise his scent, before launching himself towards the rising slope. Toward WindClan camp. Towards safety.

A loud yowl behind him told him that Foxshadow had not crossed the border and, when he turned, she was watching him from the other side, her eyes narrowed. "The dead will decide your fate in StarClan, Darkpaw, if you fail to survive the moon!"

With that, she turned and vanished across the neutral territory back towards ThunderClan.

Darkpaw's legs shook with relief and he collapsed, yowling in pain as he landed on his injured hindleg, head swarming with disbelief.

He was alive.

* * *

 **A/N: To be honest, I never liked Ferncloud's suffix. It was really random. Why name the cat after Cloudpaw or whatever? It makes more sense for her to be named after a cat that Fireheart would know - like Goldenflower, so Fernflower. But because this is Bluestar and she knows a cat with spots as a suffix (Tawnyspots), I decided to have her named Fernspots. Also, I know everyone gives Firestar flack for naming Brambleclaw after his father, but under that logic the same could be said of Thornclaw. Why not rename him? Why name anyone after Tigerclaw? Because Claw is a good suffix.  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Rising Storm is over! Next chapter is going to put us in A Dangerous Path!**

 **(Which means I'm going to need to rewrite the allegiances.)**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**


	61. A Dangerous Path pt 0 (Allegiances)

**A/N: I'm afraid to say that there have been some minor tweaks to the Allegiances due to previous errors. A few cats have been added, but I'm too lazy to add them to previous allegiances. I'll also try and put their ages in the allegiances. Makes it easier for all of us.  
**

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush: Yup, she's retiring! Though this isn't to get the story back on track - rather, it was Foxy's plan to retire under the excuse of having kits all along. She just has a different reason now other than because she thinks Fireheart is destined to lead ThunderClan.  
**

 **Gamelover41592: We shall see! I'm not sure if I'm going to do the full 15 chapters for A Dangerous Path and the Darkest Hour - I did think I was going to have this story wrapped up around Chapter 62, but considered there is now so much else I need to wrap up now... hm.  
**

 **Catlover49: Currently, Darkpaw is just trying to escape Foxy. It wasn't his intention to join WindClan but that will probably be the result. Barkface has been looking for an apprentice, Darkpaw thinks he's starting to see visions, so it seems like the natural progression.  
**

 **Guest: (1) I am on this website because I absolutely love writing fanfiction! I have so many ideas but because the majority of them are basically spin-offs of someone else's work, the only good place they belong is here on FFNet. (2) Wow, yeah. At least, I'm guessing the Guest review on Ch33 is you. I wish you had given yourself some kind of name/sig so I'd know for sure. (3) I'm glad I can get that reaction out of the majority of people! Darkpaw did evil things, and Foxshadow can be very scary when she wants to be. (4) There have been very minor mentions of her family being divorced, both her parents trying to out-do each other in pleasing her, and of her running away from home which caused her to end up here. (5) I personally don't see the difference between a "SI" and "a cat with meta powers + knowledge of being human". Foxshadow rarely is able to use those abilities because she doesn't live in an environment where her human background would be very beneficial beyond her studies in cat genetics. I should probably bring that back up in the next book, but I doubt it's going to be very important until SkyClan's Return. (6) Thank you so much!  
**

 **AnonChan1: Been busy with college. Will be graduating in May. Yay me! Also, this review is gonna probably get a bit ranty. Sorry. (1) Hmmm, you have convinced me that I need to write another five chapters. T^T. I thought I was almost done! Now I have more work to do! (2) Tawnypaw's destiny is not in ThunderClan anymore, that's for sure... but it's not with Darkpaw either. He has another destiny. (3) I am sooooo relieved that you can understand the gravity of the situation. It seems to have gone right over some people's head. (4) Bluestar does have a point - except when there's a fricking murderer _in the Clan_! The murderer's life cannot be equal to the life of the whole Clan when he's known for killing half of them already. (5) It was spur of the moment. Don't mention it. *flails* (6) She didn't! (7) Darkpaw is never going to change... at least, not while in ThunderClan. There is something eye opening about standing outside of the Clan and looking in. You see things you'd never thought of before. (8) Maybe she won't... but some will be certainly suspicious.  
**

 **Frost: Of course! He'll show up at a Gathering soon!**

 **FalconwingTheWarrior: At this point, Foxshadow has given up on Darkpaw. Besides, after he basically murdered half the Clan, there is pretty much no chance that Darkpaw is ever going to be redeemed. Before he can kill anyone else for his vendetta against Foxshadow, he needs to be removed. But not before making sure he'll actually remember what he did and making sure he never does it again - thus, she made him a cripple, just like he made Cinderheart, Brightface, and Thornclaw cripples. It's cold and ruthless, sure, but it wasn't done for the sake or power or to kill him. If anything, she's given him the best chance at redemption - after all, no Clan would turn away an apprentice with those kinds of wounds, and he has no chance of surviving as a loner if he doesn't find someone to take him in. Though, considering just how much damage she's done to him, his only way of being of any use to any Clan is to become a medicine cat apprentice... the very thing he detests.** **  
**

 **Nethercat24: And Darkpaw totally agrees with you!  
**

 **Sierra: (1)** **DarkXTawny for life! (2) AFTER Rising Storm her kits appear. Which means in the next few chapters. In fact, this chapter sets that up.  
**

 **Snowfall: (ch57) Thank you!**

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **THUNDERCLAN  
Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes. 86 moons.

 **Deputy  
** Foxshadow - long-haired dark brown she-cat with white throat, underbelly, paws and chin, bright red back and sun-gold eyes. 30.5 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes. 136 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mistleleaf

 **Warriors  
** Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. 64 moons.  
Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat with green eyes. 64 moons.  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes. 64 moons.  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes, and green eyes. 39 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Cloudpaw  
Dustpelt - dusky dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 22.5 moons.  
Ravenfeather - black tom with white chest spot, white tail-tip, white paws and amber eyes. 22.5 moons.  
Fireheart - fiery red tabby tom with dark green eyes. 20.5 moons.  
Sandstorm - pale tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side and yellow eyes. 20.5 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Snowpaw  
Brightface – white and ginger she-cat with half her face heavily scarred. 19 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Tawnypaw  
Brackenfur - pale brown tabby tom. 16 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Ashpaw  
Cinderheart - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat with a broken back leg. 16 moons.  
Thornclaw - gray tabby tom with half a tail. 16 moons.  
Brambleclaw - golden-brown tabby tom with black stripes and long claws.. 10-1/2 moons  
Fernspots - dark gray spotted tabby she-cat with green eyes. 10-1/2 moons

 **Apprentices  
** Mistleleaf - white she-cat with one blue eye and one green. 20 moons.  
Tawnypaw - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat. 10-1/2 moons  
Ashpaw - light gray spotted tabby tom with blue eyes. 10-1/2 moons  
Snowpaw – white tom with dark green eyes. 10 moons.  
Cloudpaw – white tom with bright green eyes. 10 moons.

 **Queens  
** Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat with pale blue eyes. 94 moons.

 **Kits  
** Brindleface: Graykit (dark gray tom), Slatekit (gray she-cat), Falconkit (dark gray tabby she-cat), and Harrierkit (black tabby tom). 6 moons.

 **Elders  
** Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes. 76 moons.

...

 **SHADOWCLAN  
Leader**  
Nightstar - frail, thin short-furred black tom. 104 moons.

 **Deputy  
** Ratscar - scarred young dark brown tom. 44 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Littlecloud - thin brown tabby tom. 20.5 moons

 **Warriors  
** Snaketail – dark brown tabby tom. 76 moon.  
\- Apprentice, Scorchpaw  
Jaggedtooth - huge ginger tabby tom with amber eyes, formerly known as Snag, formerly of DarkClan. 59 moons.  
Deerfoot - dark brown tabby tom with black spots and white throat and paws, formerly of ShadowClan, formerly of DarkClan. 44 moons. **  
**Snowbird - young white she-cat. 44 moons.  
Whitethroat - mostly black tom with white paws, underbelly, tail-tip and throat. 22.5 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Smokepaw  
Wetfoot - spotted gray tabby tom. 22.5 moon.  
\- Apprentice, Nightpaw  
Applefur - light brown she-cat with spotted tabby markings. 22.5 moon  
Blackfur - black tom. 22.5 moon  
Lizardtail - dark brown black-spotted tabby tom. 19 moon.  
\- Apprentice, Talonpaw  
Darktail - mostly white tom with black tail and spots around his dark amber eyes, formerly of DarkClan. 16 moons.  
Blackfrost - black-and-white tom with yellow eyes, formerly of DarkClan. 16 moons.  
Elmheart - dark brown tabby she-cat, formerly of DarkClan. 13 moons.  
Cedarheart – dark brown tabby tom. 11 moons.  
Magpiewing - black tabby she-cat. 11 moons  
Ravenwing - raven black she-cat. 11 moons  
Rookwing - black tom. 11 moons

 **Apprentice  
** Nightpaw – black she-cat. 7 moons.  
Smokepaw – mottled gray tabby. 7 moons.  
Scorchpaw – dark gray tom with a ragged ear. 7 moons  
Talonpaw – mottled gray tabby tom. 7 moons.

 **Queens  
** Tallpoppy - long-legged black tabby she-cat. 86 moons  
Swanwing - white-and-black she-cat. 19 moon.

 **Kits**  
Tallpoppy: Toadkit, Applekit, Marshkit, Mudkit. 4 moons.  
Swanwing: Whitekit, Kinkkit, Ivykit, Oatkit. 0 moons.

 **Elders  
** Cinderfur - old thin gray tom with spotted tabby markings. 120 moons.  
Dawncloud - small pale ginger tabby she-cat. 120 moons.  
Fernshade - dark gray-and-ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. 120 moons.

 **...  
RIVERCLAN  
** **Leader  
** Stonestar - blue-gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes. 64 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mintpaw

 **Deputy**  
Blackclaw - smokey black tom with green eyes, mate Mistyfoot. 86 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Hawkpaw

 **Medicine Cat  
** Primroseleaf - blue-gray she-cat with black spots and yellow eyes. 10 moons.

 **Warriors**  
Mistyfoot - blue-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes, mate Blackclaw. 64 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Featherpaw  
Leopardfur - light golden-brown spotted tabby she-cat and dark amber eyes, former mate Tigerclaw. 44 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Foxpaw  
Bearpelt - dark brown tom with amber eyes, aka Loudbelly. 44 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Swallowpaw  
Silverstream - slender silvered black she-cat with blue eyes., mate Graystripe 22 moons.  
Whiteclaw - black tom with white legs and underbelly. 22.5 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Ripplepaw  
Graystripe - silvered long-haired black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back, mate Silverstream. 21.5 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Volepaw  
Shadepelt - smokey black she-cat, mate Whiteclaw. 19 moons  
\- Apprentice, Dawnpaw **  
**Heavystep - light brown tabby tom with green eyes. 19 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Toadpaw  
Mosspelt - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat with white chest. 19 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Stormpaw  
Reedwhisker - black tom with small ears and blue eyes. 12 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Frogpaw  
Pikefin - dark gray tom with black spots and blue eyes. 12 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Dapplepaw  
Perchwing - black tom with green eyes. 12 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mothpaw

 **Apprentices**  
Stormpaw - silvered tom with dark gray tabby stripes. 9 moons old.  
Featherpaw - silvered she-cat with black stripes. 9 moons old.  
Ripplepaw - silvered black tabby tom with swirl stripes. 9 moons old.  
Swallowpaw - silvered black tabby she-cat. 9 moons old.  
Dawnpaw - cream-and-blue tortoiseshell. 9 moons old.  
Volepaw – black striped dark brown tabby tom. 9 moons old.  
Hawkpaw - dark brown tabby tom with white toes and chest. 6 moons  
Mothpaw - solid golden she-cat. 6 moons  
Toadpaw - dark brown brindled tabby tom 6 moons  
Frogpaw - dark brown tabby tom. 6 moons old.  
Foxpaw - smokey black she-cat with white paws and amber eyes. 6 moons  
Dapplepaw - dark gray spotted tabby and white she-cat. 6 moons  
Mintpaw - light gray spotted tabby and white tom. 6 moons

 **Elders**  
Mallowtail - red-and-black tortoiseshell tabby she-cat. 86 moons.  
Skyheart - brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes. 86 moons.

...

 **WINDCLAN  
Leader  
**Deadstar - lean black tom with broken forepaw. 54 moons.

 **Deputy**  
Mudclaw - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 42 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Barkface - darn brown tom with yellow eyes and short tail. 104 moons.

 **Warriors**  
Tornear - gray tabby tom with yellow eyes. 88 moons.  
Morningflower - brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. 64 moons.  
Nightcloud – black she-cat. 22.5 moons.  
Onewhisker - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 22.5 moons.  
Webfoot - wiry dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes. 19 moons  
Tawnyfur - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes. 19 moons  
Gorsefur - ginger-and-white tabby tom. 19 moons  
Owlwhisker - cream tabby tom. 19 moons  
Crowfeather - dark gray tabby tom. 12 moons.  
Runningbrook - light gray tabby she-cat with a flat face, originally Graykit. 12 moons.

 **Queens  
** Ashfoot - gray she-cat with flat face and clear amber eyes, mate Deadstar. 64 moons.  
Whitetail - small white she-cat with amber eyes, mate Onewhisker. 19 moons.

 **Kits**  
Whitetail: Harekit, Leafkit, Weaselkit, Antkit. 4-1/2 moons.  
Ashfoot: Tunnelkit, Cavekit, Burrowkit, Rookkit. 2 moons.

 **Elders  
** Darkfoot - black tom with one white paw and green eyes. 100 moons.  
Rushtail - cream tabby tom with amber eyes. 132 moons.  
Rowanberry - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan. 86 moons.

...

 **CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS**  
Tigerclaw - dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes, formerly of ThunderClan. 56 moons.  
Barley - short black-and-white tom, formerly of DarkClan. 88 moons.  
Brokenstar - scarred, patchy and ragged dark brown tabby tom, formerly of ShadowClan. 50 moons.

* * *

 **A Dangerous Path**

 **Prologue**

* * *

Foxshadow felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she padded into camp, a few squirrels hanging from her jaws. With Darkpaw gone, she felt sure that the Clan would be safe from his determination to kill her or Cloudpaw.

Now, she could turn her attention to Fireheart, Bluestar, and Tigerclaw. The brown-and-black tabby was somewhere out in the woods, last spotted by Darkpaw, and was responsibly for leading the dogs into the forest. Foxshadow wondered if humans would come and collect the dogs, like she had originally thought; she doubted they had all scattered after the death of their leader, unless their beta had also died. Foxshadow hoped they'd be gone before any of them decided to have puppies.

 _I'm going to have to leave Tigerclaw to Fireheart_ , she thought with a wave of her tail. _As the main character of the original series, he'll be able to do it without getting anyone else killed. Hopefully. For now, my duty will be to ensure the future of ThunderClan._

"Foxshadow!" meowed Tawnypaw, glancing around into the forest and looking more distraught when she saw nothing. "Have you seen Darkpaw?"

The massive cat blinked and dropped her prey. "No, no, I haven't," she said, her mind going blank. She hadn't expected anyone to ask her about Darkpaw until after a few days had passed. "Maybe he's out hunting. You know how he tends to be disobedient."

"I suppose," meowed Tawnypaw.

Relieved that Tawnypaw was agreeing with her, Foxshadow nodded. "Yes, he'll probably be back tonight or tomorrow. I wouldn't worry about it, Tawnypaw. Darkpaw might not look it but he has the instincts of a warrior. He'll be able to handle anyone, even Tigerclaw."

Tawnypaw paused, blinked and gave an awkward nod. "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

Foxshadow flicked her ears. "Is there something wrong?"

The pale brown tortoiseshell flattened her ears. "Nothing," she meowed, though Foxshadow noted she didn't look sad. The she-cat was unable to look her in the eye. "I guess I'll wait in the elder's den."

Foxshadow wished she could tell Tawnypaw that she saw Darkpaw head into WindClan territory, but doubted that it would go over well after just telling her that she hadn't seen Darkpaw. She waved her tail in good-bye, gathered her prey, and left them on the freshkill pile, her attention shifting to look for her mate. Her mouth opened and she sorted out the smells carefully until she located the right cat. His scent was stale so he was outside the camp. With a sigh, she padded underneath the High Rock and curled up on the same spot Tigerclaw had taken up when he was still a warrior of ThunderClan, as she waited for her mate to appear.

Her mate appeared with the returning sunhigh patrol from the ShadowClan border. His fur was flat so Foxshadow guessed that nothing happened, even as he padded towards her to tell her the news.

"ShadowClan didn't take the opportunity to gain more territory while the dogs were here," he began, and Foxshadow's ear twitched at the tone of disgust in Dustpelt's voice. "The scent of dogs around Snakerocks is stale, and we didn't smell any fresh dog-scent around Lion's Trap. Or of rabbits either."

"We have four moons before we say for sure that the rabbits won't return," Foxshadow meowed smoothly. "Was there any scent of twolegs?"

Dustpelt shook his head. "Do you really think they'll come?"

"I don't know," Foxshadow admitted. "I thought they would show up sooner after that monster clipped one of the dogs, but I could be wrong. With the dogs scattered, they might never come."

The dusky brown tabby sighed. "Well, whatever happens, I bet those dogs won't come back to challenge you again."

Foxshadow gave a half-smile, but she bristled at the praise. She really hadn't done anything except fall off a cliff and lose a life. "Dustpelt, we needed to talk. Alone." She looked at the prisoner's den, and Dustpelt nodded his understanding, brow furrowing in confusion. As they settled in Yellowfang's and her old nest, Foxshadow looked Dustpelt in his amber eyes and said, "I want to retire."

"What!" said Dustpelt, and if he had been crouching he would have risen to his paws in protest. "How can you say that? ThunderClan needs you!"

"ThunderClan needs kits more," Foxshadow meowed harshly before her voice becoming softly and quieter, "and I've been wanting _our_ kits for a long time."

Dustpelt settled, fur flattening as he shifted on his paws. His eyes shown with hope and pleasure. "You want to have my kits?"

"We're mates, aren't we?" she meowed with a _mrrow_ of laughter. "We can make it official tonight. I'll stay on as deputy for another moon but leave after my belly starts to get too big."

The warrior purred. "Okay." Then he paused. "But, who's going to take over when you finish?"

The deputy tilted her head in confusion. "There are plenty of cats who will be picked, Dustpelt. There's Fireheart, Mousefur, Brackenfur, and even Brambleclaw once he's had an apprentice."

The brown tabby tom relaxed. "Right." He turned in place, before stopping in front of her. "I'm just... nervous, I guess. We're gonna have _kits_."

The black-brown, white and ginger she-cat snorted. She winked her eyes suggestively. "You almost sound like you have no idea how to mate, Dustpelt."

"Of course I do!"

"I can tell!"

Dustpelt laid down and shifted in embarrassment, flustered as he tucked his hindlegs up under him. "You're a tease!" he complained, his fur turning a darker shade.

Foxshadow threw her head back and laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter was short but they're having kits now! FINALLY!  
**

 **The following chapters are going to be aimed towards wrapping up some final plot points. Also, a few final words on Darkpaw and such. If you guys remember any old plot points you'd like to see wrapped up or just an update on where some of the other characters are, just let me know! I might not get to all of them but I can at least try to get as many done as I can!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Guests, please don't forget to sign your review! It helps me keep track of responses and who's-who:**

 **Here's my recent critique of River of Fire (so consider this your spoiler warning!):**

 **It angers me greatly when convenient plot stuff happens just to get the main cats in trouble. Like, I don't know, a WindClan hunting patrol calling a fully grown cat an apprentice (Twigpaw *cough*) and then demanding to escort her to the camp just so she can get into trouble. Like, do they have eyes? Are they stupid? Sure, she is an apprentice, but she looks like a warrior. *angry screeching noise* Also, Bramblestar is an idiot for giving away prey that his Clan needs just to try and get in another Clan's good graces, especially when they are too mousebrained to realize that ThunderClan has no border with RiverClan. Do. Not. Reward. Stupidity!  
**


	62. A Dangerous Path pt 1

**A/N: So, I said to some people that Darkpaw's current status would appear in the Allegiances... and then afterwards decided to change the Allegiances and forgot to also change my responses in the dialog. I'M SORRY! What happened to him will be revealed but in a few chapters! Literally at the next Gathering! ALSO, check out some new fan art from alphaofdarkness on DA! It's amazing!  
**

 **TheAlphaOfDarkness: Thank you so much! They were absolutely lovely! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I hope I keep making it entertaining! :)  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Thank you! Tawnypaw has the hots for Darkpaw and doesn't know much of anything when it comes to her father (unless it's from Darkpaw, she tends not to listen to anything having to do with her father).  
**

 **AnonChan1: (1) You did this on purpose, didn't you? (3) That is a horrifyingly true statement. Honestly, I think I suffer from insensitivity a lot. I'm a huge A-hole irl. I can sound a lot nicer (less bitey) on paper or while recording vids. (4) Now that I've looked at this again... Bluestar doesn't see it as murder. She sees it as an accident brought on by kits being overzealous. That isn't something a normal Clan cat would find cause to shout "murderer". In this case, they are both right - but Foxshadow just so happens to be uh "more right?" since she knows something Bluestar doesn't. (A) No, no. It's not you... it's me. Lol. (B) More evidence that Foxy _DOES NOT THINK THESE THINGS THROUGH_. You are absolutely right, omg. (C) Yes, Foxy hasn't learned that lesson quite yet. But honestly, would any of us do anything less? If we even remembered the series at this point. (D) Yay! (E) If you want to pick it back/something similar to the original series, A Vision of Shadows is the one to get. It isn't perfect, but it will put you back on track and be way more entertaining than any of the other series. The others broke the base so hard that it shattered and now A Vision of Shadows is successfully piecing it back together again.  
**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: Welp, we all now know he's still attracted to Foxy. LOL  
**

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush: [1] Prepare for me to butcher one of your favorite books! T^T [2] Aww! How about... now? :3  
**

 **S1L3NT: (1) Everyone is waiting for Darkpaw to open his mouth and ruin everything. *grabs popcorn* (2) Rising Storm just ended and we are on the fifth book, A Dangerous Path! (3) Thank you so much!  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: (1) Yes, but they're being born here/now. It's Foxy messing up the entire time stream. Everything is broke. (2) Lol.  
**

 **Riley-Cooper123: Thank you for mentioning that! It has been fixed!  
**

 **WolfWriter123: (1) True, but you know the Erins. They have to have all the characters named after someone/something. If it wasn't Cloudpaw then it was probably Cloudstar or some other Cloud- character that we're never going to see. Someone Firestar wouldn't know about at that moment in time. (2) Brambleclaw always made sense to me, only because Brambleclaw was a big cat and a brave warrior.  
**

 **Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Oh no! And yes, I do have names and pelts for all of them. You can actually find them listed as characters in a future book on my profile page.  
**

 **Shadowmist Of ShadowClan: Sorry, but I'm not taking suggestions! I already have names/pelts for her first and second litters! Which is a shame because I really like those names. T^T  
**

 **Sierra: Tawnypaw's destiny is in ShadowClan, BUT that doesn't mean romance won't happen! ...I think the Erins have proven that with all their illegal couples and stuff.**

* * *

At the sound of a familiar call from outside, Foxshadow stood and stretched, letting her tail lazily brush over Dustpelt. He curled tighter, grunting softly.

"Tell Mousefur to do it."

Foxshadow let out a soft laugh as she turned around and sniffed his ear until he flicked it. "I didn't tire you out that much, did I?"

Dustpelt groaned again. Whiskers curling in amusement, Foxshadow nudged him hard enough to move his stiffened body. His legs flew up when she tried to roll him over, and she was reminded of her own cat. He would stubbornly refuse to move so hard that he stiffened and was practically a stuffed doll that meowed angrily every once and a while whenever she tried to roll him over. She pulled back with a laugh.

"Get up, lazy tail. The Gathering is tonight, and Bluestar wants to make an announcement. You can sleep after she's done."

The dark brown tabby groaned and rose to his paws slowly, stretching his limbs. "I hope I'm not going to the Gathering."

"That will be for Bluestar to decide," Foxshadow meowed with an amused tail flick. "Come on! Let's see who _is_ going."

Dustpelt padded out into the camp and walked over to a clear spot beside Sandstorm. Foxshadow quickly joined him to weave herself between Sandstorm and Dustpelt. She gave a tiny nod to Fireheart, who was sitting on Sandstorm's other side, and Ravenfeather, who was sitting next to Fireheart with Cinderheart at his side. The deputy turned away from them and put her head on Dustpelt's forehead, glad that she was tall enough to do it without forcing his head down. His ears flicked and he lowered his head fractionally in a pout, but otherwise didn't complain. Foxshadow's fluffy mane and large body was hiding him from Sandstorm, the only cat in the Clan that might make fun of him for being soft.

"Those cats who will be going to the Gathering will be Foxshadow, Fireheart, Ravenfeather, Dustpelt, Longtail, Mousefur, Brackenfur, Willowpelt, Goldenflower, and Sandstorm."

Foxshadow flicked her ears worriedly. The three warriors that had been injured during the dog attack a quarter moon ago were being forced to stay behind with the four apprentices responsible for their injuries. Plus, the two new warriors were also being told to stay behind. Foxshadow hoped that would be enough to protect the camp if a fox or badger decided it might want to make a nest there or make a meal out of one of Brindleface's kits.

 _They can try._ Her whiskers twitched in amusement as her gaze slid towards the four almost fully-grown kittens, who were more than ready to be made apprentices. They were mostly gray to dark gray kits, half of them tabbies and the other half solid, with no white spotting, and it was hard to tell from a glance who their father was. Considering some of them were solids, Foxshadow guessed that the only possible cat to be their father was Patchpelt. The tom might have passed down the same speedy genes he had once given to Swiftwind. At least, she hoped so. ThunderClan needed fast cats now that their fastest warriors were resting in StarClan.

"I wish Snowpaw was going," meowed Sandstorm loudly. "He deserves it after everything Cloudpaw put him through."

"Sandstorm..." meowed Fireheart with a wide-eyed glance at Foxshadow.

Sandstorm lifted her head challengingly, stubbornly refusing to look at Fireheart.

"I'm sure Brightface thinks the same of Tawnypaw," meowed Foxshadow neutrally. "But it has only been a quarter moon since the dog attack. No matter what, we must remain firm in our displeasure against them." She lowered her voice. "They can all go to the Gathering next time as long as they do not complain about their chores."

"Where is Darkpaw, anyway?" meowed Sandstorm pointedly. "You're apprentice doesn't seem to think the punishment applies to him! He hardly shows up to help the others out."

"Last I saw him," meowed Foxshadow carefully, "he was out hunting."

"Of course, he's out hunting," snorted Sandstorm. "Considering your training method, he's probably going to be out hunting for a moon before anyone sees him again."

Foxshadow frowned but remained quiet, even as she pulled away from Dustpelt to look around the camp for a familiar pale tortoiseshell. Tawnypaw had approached her shortly after she had returned from her first night with Dustpelt out in the forest, worried for Darkpaw's safety. Foxshadow hadn't known what to tell Tawnypaw other than it was normal for him to do whatever he wanted. She couldn't bring herself to tell her that Darkpaw was gone, and she was the one to blame.

 _He needed to be banished,_ she told herself. _He was letting his hatred towards me and the former kittypets destroy the Clan. How could I begin to trust him after that? He killed apprentices in an attempt to kill Cloudpaw!_

She wondered where he was, broken and beaten, without a chance to survive in the wild. Would WindClan accept him? What was he going to tell them when they found him?

A chill swept through her spine. What _was_ he going to tell them? Would his hatred for her poison the whole forest against her? Her reputation would be ruined.

 _Better he poison the whole world against me than try and kill me along with my Clan,_ she thought. _I can accept whatever punishment WindClan thinks they have a right to give me as long as they do not harm my Clan._

Foxshadow looked at Dustpelt, remembered his gaze whenever he looked at her, how he seemed to accept her despite her heritage and see a warrior in her and stand by her when she was falling apart. Back when all she had to worry about was a squirrel prophecy that could have been referring to any white or gray kitten in the Clan. He had faith in her, trusted her, loved her, and if he were ever to find out what she had done to Darkpaw to drive him away...

 _I had to do what I thought was best for the Clan! I couldn't let that murderer stay, especially since I don't know if he would have stopped his vendetta or continued murdering other cats. Our Clan could have been completely destroyed._

Dustpelt turned and blinked at her, but Foxshadow looked away, feeling ill. _I wish it could have happened differently._

Suddenly, she was dreading the Gathering tonight. If Darkpaw had told WindClan what happened, she could only imagine what ThunderClan would have to say about it.

Dustpelt bumped her shoulder. "I'm going back to my nest. You want to join me, Foxscar?"

The deputy fluffed up her fur. "I need to speak with Bluestar."

"About what?"

The massive fox-colored she-cat twitched her tail thoughtfully. "About Sunningrocks."

"Okay." Dustpelt narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I can't wait to claw the fur off those prey-thieves."

For once, Foxshadow agreed with him. "I can't wait to claw the fur off that traitor, Graystripe. He deserve it after telling me all of RiverClan's secrets like that. Who knows what he's told them about ThunderClan?"

His amber eyes narrowed. "Newleaf has been over for a moon, and the rabbits haven't returned. Graystripe would do that. And to make matters worse, Treecutplace is overrun with twoleg stench."

"Treecutplace?"

"It's been getting stronger since that day." Dustpelt lashed his tail. "Our sunhigh patrol keeps scenting dog smell near Snakerocks. We will need the prey."

"The rabbits won't return until the dogs are gone. I'll take a look at the twoleg situation in treecutplace. Maybe, we can convince them to hunt down those dogs for us."

"Yes, then we'll just have twolegs to worry about."

Foxshadow doubted the twolegs were here for any other reason than because of the dogs. "How is Thornclaw?"

"As good as any cat who is missing half his tail. Dumb dogs," meowed Dustpelt with a hiss. "He's been eager to go on patrol, but knows he can't."

"If the twolegs can get rid of the dogs, I think it would be good for ThunderClan regardless of what becomes of the twolegs." She touched his cheek with her nose, purring quietly. "Have Thornclaw put on vigil tonight. I'm sure he'll keep Patchpelt company."

Dustpelt twitched his whiskers and gently touched his cheek with a paw. "Y-you're the deputy."

With a loud purr, Foxshadow turned and padded away towards Bluestar's den. She looked around and stared down at the blue-gray queen. "Bluestar?"

The ThunderClan lifted her head and blinked. "Yes, Foxshadow."

"It's about Darkpaw. I think..." Foxshadow trailed off, trying to think of what to say. "I think he's run off."

Bluestar narrowed her eyes. "How long do you think he has been missing?"

"I last saw him a quarter moon ago," Foxshadow meowed, looking away as she thought up her lie. "We were on a hunting patrol together, and I wandered off to catch a squirrel. When I turned around, I couldn't find him. I thought he would come back to the camp afterwards. But I just asked around and no one has seen him in camp since." Foxshadow remembered Sandstorm's words. "Everyone seems to think I have him out constantly on hunting missions. I thought he was doing chores and trying to stay out of my sight, but Sandstorm says he never shows up"

Bluestar twitched her tail and spoke to herself. "Tawnypaw did tell me she was worried about him but that was a quarter moon ago." After a quiet moment, she rose to her paws and turned to face. "It won't look good for ThunderClan if the deputy's apprentice is missing."

"None of the other Clans even knew that Darkpaw existed. He's never been to a Gathering before. No one talks about him because he's a disgrace to the Clan."

Bluestar stiffened. "Are you saying we shouldn't care that Darkpaw is gone?"

"No, I'm saying we don't need to worry about our image," meowed Foxshadow sharply, "and we should just worry about our apprentice."

The blue-gray queen absorbed what she had said before relaxing her fur. "Where was he last seen?"

"On the border with Fourtrees," meowed Foxshadow instantly. "Hunting."

Bluestar nodded. "Send Brambleclaw, Fernspots, and Tawnypaw to investigate."

Dipping her head, Foxshadow turned and quickly left the den. She spotted Fireheart and gestured him closer.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Tell Brambleclaw, Fernspots, and Tawnypaw to meet me here right away."

Fireheart stiffened. "Tawnypaw?"

"It's an order from Bluestar." Foxshadow paused. "Darkpaw is missing."

His eyes widened. "Oh no."

Foxshadow briefly wondered if Fireheart would show sympathy to a cat who wanted him dead, then remembered how he acted in the books when Tigerclaw was banished and resisted a snarl. "He was last seen at the border with Fourtrees. Brambleclaw is to lead the patrol there and try to find any traces of him."

"I'll go, too," Fireheart meowed eagerly.

"You will do no such thing!" Foxshadow was bristling. Fireheart leaned away in surprise. Foxshadow licked her lips and forced her fur to flatten. "You will obey the will of your leader and your deputy, Fireheart. Go tell Brambleclaw to lead Fernspots and Tawnypaw on a patrol to find Darkpaw. You will prepare for the Gathering. Understood?"

The red tabby hesitated before dipping his head. "Yes, Foxshadow."

As Fireheart padded away, Foxshadow brought her paw up to wash her face. She had hoped that Fireheart wouldn't question why Bluestar would tell her deputy to tell him to do something, but now she wished he had. He had too much faith in Bluestar as a leader and was completely blind to her faults.

He was completely blind to Foxshadow's faults, too. She could see every mistake she had just made, but Fireheart was oblivious to the signs. He would just think that she had a bad day.

Foxshadow shook herself, unnerved. Was this what it was like to feel guilty for driving someone away? Had she become just like Tigerclaw?

 _No, Tigerclaw never felt guilty for what he did. I'm more like Oakstar._

But being compared to a kit-killer didn't make her feel any better.

The massive she-cat turned away and padded towards her normal spot under the Highrock, the same spot Tigerclaw would sit and look out at her from across the Clan. She shivered, padded around in a circle, and turned to leave the camp.

 _Did I do the right thing?_ she wondered, before her thoughts turned to the dead apprentices. _Of course, I did._

Her paws lead her out of ThunderClan camp and towards Owl Tree. When she reached the border, she stopped. It didn't smell as strong as the other borders. The sunhigh patrol would only sometimes come through here since it was considered neutral territory. If she opened her mouth, she was sure she'd be able to smell Mousefur and Dustpelt's scent mingled among the older and staler scents. With a tiny dip of her head, she padded out across the border towards the Owl Tree.

In the books, the Owl Tree was considered a good place to hunt for mice. That was ridiculous. Mice wouldn't hang around a tree where they could smell other dead mice. It was natural instinct to run from areas that were occupied by predators. It was more likely that birds would peck through the droppings for scraps of fur they could use to line their nests or foxes would chew the droppings just for the bone marrow.

There was no scent of fox, but the barest scent of a crow or raven.

Foxshadow sat down beneath the tree and stared up at the owl. She wondered if the owl was small enough for her to kill and eat. Even though she didn't believe that cats should eat other predators, she didn't think that could apply to birds. The Mountain cats ate eagles, hawks, owls, ospreys, and falcons, after all. She stayed still for so long that a bird decided it was safe and landed neatly on a dropping, searching for nesting material.

"Foxshadow!"

Her ears swiveled but she didn't turn around, watching as the bird cawed and flew away. Brambleclaw and his patrol were padding towards her.

"Sorry," meowed Brambleclaw, his gaze following the bird.

"Is this where Darkpaw was?" asked Tawnypaw, looking around desperately for a sign of her friend.

"This is the last place I saw him," lied Foxshadow. "He was heading this way when I left to catch a squirrel. When I came back, he was gone."

"Then his scent has to be around here somewhere!" Tawnypaw meowed, padding around to eagerly search for his scent.

Fernspots glanced at Foxshadow and then Brambleclaw. "I'll keep an eye on her." She quickly padded away.

"I wasn't expecting you to be out here," meowed Brambleclaw.

"You needed a lead. I need to prepare for the Gathering."

"You could have just told us."

"I could have done a lot of things."

Brambleclaw flicked his ears in confusion. "Are you okay?"

Foxshadow thought about it. She felt sad. When she spoke to Fireheart, she was angry. When she spoke with Dustpelt, she was happy. Was she suffering from mood swings?

"I think..." Foxshadow trailed off. "I think I'm expecting."

"Oh," said Brambleclaw, sounding confused. "Congratulations?" When the she-cat said nothing, he shifted. "Does Dustpelt know?"

"No. I want to wait until I'm sure. Maybe in a moon."

"Okay. Do you need someone to walk you back to ThunderClan?"

"No," Foxshadow snapped, eyes flashing. "I'm not _helpless_."

Brambleclaw leaned away, ears flattening. "Okay." He dipped his head. "I'll see you back at camp." Then, he turned and hared after Fernspots and Tawnypaw.

The queen turned, hoping to catch a glimpse of Brambleclaw before he disappeared, but he was already gone. Above, the owl hooted, announcing that he was preparing to awaken for the night. She bunched her muscles, claws extended.

 _It makes sense_ , she thought idly, _that we don't claim this territory for our own. We don't want our apprentices to be eaten by this owl._

 _But ThunderClan needs more prey. With Snakerocks unavailable due to dogs, our rabbits all gone, and treecutplace overrun with twolegs, we're going to need the prey from wherever we can get it. Our shallow stream, this piece of territory, Sunningrocks... I've got a moon to make sure ThunderClan is ready for leaf-fall before I have to step down as deputy._

She eyed the tree, noted the location of the droppings, the second lower hoot of the owl, and padded in a zigzag pattern around the bottom of the tree, hoping to catch sight of the dark hole where the owl lived. If she waited at the bottom too long, it would be gone. She glanced around, pleased to see that Brambleclaw and the others were nowhere to be found.

 _I hope the Clan appreciates owl tonight._

She bunched her muscles and bounced up the trunk, her long claws digging into the bark as she came to a resting stop at the end of her run. Kicking out with her long hindlegs, she spread her five-clawed paws and slapped them down on the slick bark, her hard black paws protecting her from the rough surface. She clawed her way up the nearest branch, a thick branch with two branches between it and the lowest branch. She looked up, eying the trunk for the owl's den.

The sun had touched the horizon. She heard talons shuffle along on bark and saw two gray wings flap experimentally overhead. She put on a burst of speed, darting up the trunk and hooking her claws into the nearest wing, yanking the owl toward her so her teeth could connect with wing bone. The owl's head whipped around, eyes wide and semi-blinded by the sunlight. It twisted on the branch, pulling away, spreading its wings. Heart pounding, she bit down and clawed at wing, yanking out feathers, ruining it. The owl shrieked, and she let go. It fell rapidly, flapping its wings and spreading its one good wing, barely able to glide away from the tree.

Down below, Brambleclaw and Fernspots darted towards the tree, Tawnypaw a few foxlengths behind them. When Brambleclaw saw the owl fall, they redirected and aimed towards it, yowling and hissing. Foxshadow scrambled to get down the tree, ignoring a branch that slammed into her ribs as she fell down too quickly. When she reached the bottom, Brambleclaw and Fernspots were still trying to drive the owl away.

"What in StarClan's name are you doing!?" Foxshadow yowled angrily. "Don't drive it away!"

The two warriors hesitated in confusion, unsure what to do other than drive the owl away. It twisted its beak around, glaring fiercely. Foxshadow could smell its fear-scent as she slammed into its back, sinking her teeth into the back of its neck. It shrieked and flapped its wings, but she gnawed deeper, blood gushing into her mouth. The sun set as the life slowly drained from the owl's body. When it stopped twitching, Foxshadow pulled away, licking her lips.

"Why did you do that!?" Brambleclaw demanded. "A warrior doesn't kill unless they have to."

Foxshadow stared at him in surprise. "Do you say that every time you catch prey for the Clan?"

"It's an _owl_ ," said Brambleclaw.

"Its _prey_. Besides that, we need this territory to be safe for our apprentices."

"I can handle an owl," said Tawnypaw, fur fluffing.

"You won't be the only apprentices tomorrow," meowed Foxshadow. "So, who else has a problem with their deputy's decision?" She looked expectantly at Fernspots who just dipped her head. "I thought so. Before we leave today, we're moving the border. We're taking all the neutral territory around the Owl Tree. Make sure the border goes all the way to the river and all the way to the Thunderpath. Brambleclaw, tomorrow at dawn you and your patrol will re-check this border."

"It will gives us a chance to find Darkpaw's scent again," meowed Brambleclaw with a nod.

Foxshadow blinked. "You weren't able to find his scent?"

"No," meowed Brambleclaw, tail lashing in frustration.

Foxshadow could tell that Tawnypaw felt the same way, but she looked away. "Remark the border. I will tell Bluestar of the territory change once I get back to camp."

With a wave of her tail to dismiss the patrol, she grabbed the carcass and began to drag it back to the camp. She was spotted at the top of the ravine as she started to drag it down toward the entrance. She could see through the feathers that Bluestar was sitting at the bottom of the Highrock. Instead of trying to drag the bird through the bramble tunnel, she threw the bird over the barrier and leaped over after it.

Bluestar padded towards her. "Did you run into trouble?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow. "I went with the patrol to the Owl Tree and decided to come back with some extra prey and territory."

"Territory?"

"Yes. I moved the border to beyond Owl Tree. We will need the prey now that twolegs have taken over treecutplace."

Bluestar absorbed this information silently. "That isn't a lot of territory."

"No, it isn't. I would suggest asking for Sunningrocks back before deciding to go to war for it." Foxshadow curled her lips in a snarl. "I hear that they have been enjoying rabbits thanks to Graystripe joining them."

The queen lifted her head, icy-blue eyes sparkling with anger. "I see." She pointed a paw at the owl. "Give that to Patchpelt, Brindleface, the kits, and the injured warriors, then catch up to us."

Foxshadow nodded, grabbing the large prey and dragging it to the elder's den. "Patchpelt! There's some prey here for you."

She waited until she heard a meow from the tom before padding to the nursery to inform Brindleface and her kits. "If you kits want to taste owl for the first time, you'd best get out here before Patchpelt eats it all." She was greeted with mews of protest and excitement as the four gray cats padded out, their mother following behind them and looking bone-weary.

Foxshadow twitched her whiskers in concern. "Are you all right Brindleface?"

Brindleface flashed her a smile, but it looked tired. "Those kits can be difficult to deal with sometimes."

Foxshadow nodded and purred. "They are a handful. I'll ask Goldenflower or Willowpelt to stop by to help."

"Aren't they going to be on vigil?"

"Thornclaw and Patchpelt are going to be," said Foxshadow, whiskers twitching. "Willowpelt and Goldenflower haven't told me they were planning to."

"I see," meowed Brindleface, whiskers twitching.

Foxshadow wrinkled her brow in worry. "Are you okay? Did they say something to you?"

"Oh, no, no," meowed Brindleface with a quiet laugh. "I guess I just assumed."

After studying the pale gray she-cat for a quiet moment, Foxshadow gave a nod. "Okay. Can you tell Brightface, Thornclaw, and Cinderheart about the prey? The owl was supposed to be for them, too. They could probably use the feathers."

"Patchpelt could probably use my help, too," meowed Brindleface, brightening. "Thank you, Foxshadow."

Foxshadow purred. "Any time, Brindleface. You have been with this Clan for many moons. No one knows that better than Goldenflower and Willowpelt."

The queen returned the purr and padded passed her. "You should catch up to that patrol!"

Foxshadow nodded, turned and leaped easily over the bramble wall. She hared up the steep slope, kicking up earth as she tore through the forest with her nose pointed towards Fourtrees. She barely understood the loud meow of greeting Brambleclaw gave out as she passed, and returned it with her own yowl of greeting. She passed the old border, hared passed the Owl Tree, passed the new border towards where her Clan waited at the top of the valley of Fourtrees. She darted around the main body of cats, slowing as she came into sight of Bluestar.

The blue-gray nodded in greeting and waited as Foxshadow panted and dipped her head in response. After a few heartbeats where the leader waited for her deputy to catch her breath, Bluestar raised her tail in signal, and she and Foxshadow led ThunderClan down the steep slopes towards the shadows of the Great Rock and a moonlit clearing.

When she reached the bottom of the slope, Foxshadow cut away from the rest of the Clan and walked leisurely towards a group of RiverClan warriors. Her gaze swept the line of RiverClan cats, and she recognized a smokey black coat on a young apprentice.

"Foxshadow!" meowed a familiar she-cat, who stubbornly weaved her way through the crowd of RiverClan warriors - and Heavystep - to greet the ThunderClan deputy. Foxshadow twitched her whiskers in amusement at Heavystep, who looked frustrated that Shadepelt had escaped his wall of fur. The smokey black queen pressed into Foxshadow's shoulder, purring a welcome. "I've been waiting to show my kits to you!" She gestured with her tail at a few apprentices. "Come over here quick, Foxpaw! Dapplepaw! Mintpaw!"

The three apprentices hesitated, looking at the RiverClan warriors as if to call for help. Mistyfoot gave them a stern look. "It's rude not to greet another Clan's deputy!"

Reluctantly, the three apprentices padded forward. The smokey black she-cat that looked almost exactly like her mother except for her white toes dragged her whiskers and tail in the ground, hanging reluctantly behind them.

Foxshadow purred in amusement, which only made the apprentice flatten her ears. "Hello, 'paws, I'm Foxshadow. I like squirrels and _hate_ fish. What do you guys think of rabbit?"

The smokey black apprentice looked up in surprise before her eyes narrowed, as if trying to read beneath whatever disguise Foxshadow had put up. The deputy purred.

"Don't be rude!" Shadepelt meowed, fur ruffled. "It's the Gathering! It's okay to be nice to each other now!"

"Until someone decides to bring up old wounds," Foxshadow added with a purr. "Let's all pray to StarClan that it never comes to blows."

"StarClan would be angry," meowed one of the apprentices, a spotted light gray-and-white tabby tom. "So of course we wouldn't."

"Well said," Foxshadow praised. "Unfortunately, some dense warriors don't see it that way."

Shadepelt purred in agreement. "This one is Mintpaw. The quiet and darker one is Dapplepaw, and the one in back with my father's pelt is Foxpaw."

"I love her toes," meowed Foxshadow, raising a paw towards the she-cat. "They are absolutely beautiful."

Foxpaw glanced up at her, amber eyes wide.

"You said she looked like your father," meowed Foxshadow, "but she looks more like her mother with those sparkling amber eyes. But I'm sure they all will grow up to be beautiful and ferocious warriors, just like their grandfather."

The queen licked her chest in pride, while the apprentices glowed at the praise. A few fox lengths away, Heavystep looked even more upset.

"Foxshadow," meowed Foxpaw, with a nervous look around. "Where are the ThunderClan apprentices?"

Foxshadow resisted giving a full body flinch and glanced up at the Great Rock where Nightstar, Bluestar, and Stonestar were waiting. "None of them could come today," she meowed evenly. "I should probably head up to speak with your grandfather."

Sensing something was wrong, Shadepelt quickly gestured her apprentices away. "You can go talk to some ShadowClan or WindClan apprentices, instead."

Looking mildly disappointed, the three apprentices quickly dipped their heads to Foxshadow, who gave a tiny nod in return, before racing away towards ShadowClan. The massive she-cat turned away.

"What's wrong?" Shadepelt asked, concerned. "Why are there no apprentices here?"

"They're being punished for disobeying their elders and betters," meowed Foxshadow evenly. "Two of them have become warriors."

"That's good news," meowed Shadepelt. "I thought something horrible happened after Mudfur, Blackclaw, and Stonestar came back from visiting your camp." The black she-cat grew quiet. "I don't think Mudfur recovered from what he saw. He said that no Clan could grieve more than ThunderClan had that night. His heart wasn't able to take it anymore. We buried him beside the stepping stones a few days ago."

The massive she-cat's eyes went wide. "That's horrible. He was a good medicine cat." She hoped that Mudfur was at peace, wherever he had ended up.

"I'll leave you to speak with my father. He's been so quiet since he had gotten back. Maybe some good news from ThunderClan will help him!"

Foxshadow doubted that RiverClan would be receiving any good news from ThunderClan today. "Thank you, Shadepelt. Don't let Whiteclaw push you around, okay?"

Shadepelt giggled. "Of course not! He's a pushover, to be honest."

Foxshadow waved her tail good-bye, feeling too hollow on the inside to bring herself to smile as Shadepelt padded away, oblivious. She quickly turned away and greeted Blackclaw with a nod.

"How is ThunderClan?"

The fox-colored she-cat waved her tail in a so-so manner, looking unhappy. "How is RiverClan?"

"The prey runs well."

"Your granddaughter cuts straight to the point," meowed Foxshadow. "I'm surprised RiverClan doesn't know about our apprentice situation."

"Stonestar thought it best not to spread any news of what happened and decided to leave such matters to ThunderClan."

"ThunderClan appreciates Stonestar's thoughtfulness, but I'm afraid we have some bad news." She lowered her voice with a sideways glance at Ratscar, the ShadowClan deputy. "The dogs haven't left and twolegs have taken over what little territory we have left on that side of the forest. We've had to claim the neutral territory around Owl Tree, but that territory is too small, despite our much smaller size."

"You're looking for more territory," Blackclaw meowed, stoically.

"Yes, essentially. Considering what happened, it seems more polite to ask for Sunningrocks than to just change the border markings and start a fight."

"You won't be able to win in a fight."

Foxshadow straightened and stared into Blackclaw's unblinking eyes, her voice growing slightly louder but icily calm. "The desperate and hungry fight more fiercely than the well-fed."

The smokey black cat blinked slowly before smoothly dipping his head. "I understand."

Regardless of how they looked at the situation, if Stonestar refused to give away Sunningrocks, ThunderClan would have to go to war in order to survive.

Or perhaps not.

"If Stonestar refuses, I doubt Bluestar would be willing to go to war with RiverClan so soon after your medicine cat died to help us. Once she hears the news."

"I doubt Mudfur wanted fighting. He'd always been soft."

Foxshadow wondered if the stoic tom looked down upon Mudfur for his softhearted ways, just as Tigerclaw and Dustpelt looked down on Fireheart and Ravenfeather. She looked sideways at Blackclaw, trying to gauge the tom's reaction.

"WindClan is here!" meowed Ratscar, startling Foxshadow. He looked like he had been awkwardly crouching there and was glad that someone else was coming to converse with him.

Foxshadow looked up the slope and unhappily sought out the WindClan deputy, Mudclaw, who hared down the slope while beside his limping leader, Deadstar. She had never sensed anything remotely power hungry or ruthless about the tom, only that he might go to some unwelcome lengths to feed and protect his Clan. When his dark amber eyes landed on them, she saw a glimmer of challenge in them when they settled on Blackclaw.

"Seems you might have prey problems of your own," Foxshadow whispered, ears lying flat. "We might have to ask ShadowClan for help instead."

"Ratscar! Foxshadow!" Mudclaw greeted briskly, his tone becoming accusing. "Blackclaw."

"Mudclaw!" Ratscar greeted, as if seeing a friend for the first time in a long while.

Blackclaw's voice remained neutral. "Mudclaw."

Foxshadow realized why he had been chosen to become deputy. She could appreciate how unflappable he was. "Mudclaw," Foxshadow meowed, forcing a note of cheer in her voice. "You look spirited."

"Very much so," meowed Mudclaw. "Ever since RiverClan started stealing prey."

Foxshadow rose to her paws, even as Blackclaw remained unmoved. "RiverClan has all of Sunningrocks. Why would they steal prey?"

"They've been stealing rabbits," meowed Mudclaw with a sneer. "Probably have a whole bunch of them stashed on their territory."

Ratscar, unhappy that a potential conversational partner had opted to not talk to him, shifted in uncertainly. "It's the Gathering. Let's keep the hostilities down."

"Agreed," Foxshadow added quickly, her tone dropping into a warning. "We should not accuse each other of anything until all evidence has been brought forward."

Mudclaw unsheathed his claws. "WindClan has all the evidence they need!"

"Are you speaking for your leader? Your Clan?" snapped Foxshadow. "Or yourself?"

Mudclaw stared at Foxshadow in surprise, before slowly sheathing his paws and sitting down. "Deadstar will explain," he meowed stiffly.

Feeling a tail on her back, she looked back at Blackclaw. The tom's eyes seemed to glimmer with some new understanding she couldn't comprehend. His voice was low so only she could hear. "Do not let Mudclaw get under your fur, especially when you are expecting."

Foxshadow made a sharp noise of surprise. "How did you...?"

"I know the smell of a pregnant queen," he said simply. "I smelled it the morning after I slept with my first mate, then with Mistyfoot, and again after Whiteclaw and Shadepelt got together. Once you have smelled it enough times, you simply know it."

Looking relieved, Foxshadow dipped her head. "It's good to hear confirmation from an expert," she teased mildly. "You might not see me standing here next moon."

"I hope you do not have many kits," meowed Blackclaw, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "First litters can be deadly if they are too big."

"Is four too big?" Foxshadow asked, worriedly.

"Sometimes," meowed Blackclaw, before amending. "But I doubt that four will hurt you unless the kits are big."

An old fear began to stir in her. She nodded stiffly in thanks. Somehow, she had a feeling that StarClan would ensure his words came true. They didn't like her, after all, and ThunderClan needed kits with her being the only queen she knew of expecting. She licked her lips and swallowed, trying to suppress her fear so her fear-scent couldn't be smelled. Blackclaw sucked in a tiny breath and, for a heartbeat, was still before discretely leaning into her, his tail pressing into her flank. He said nothing, and Foxshadow was grateful for it.

"Now that we are all here," yowled Deadstar from the top of the Great Rock. "I will speak about matters concerning WindClan."

"Naturally," murmured Foxshadow under her breath, feeling her spirits start to lift at her own joke.

Blackclaw grunted beside her in agreement.

"On our border with RiverClan, rabbits have turned up dead. Some of our warriors have even spotted RiverClan cats hunting rabbits."

"Are you accusing RiverClan of stealing rabbits?" yowled Skyheart, the black and brown tortoiseshell chimera.

"Your sister hasn't lost her wit," murmured Foxshadow. Blackclaw swelled his chest out in pride.

"Rabbits are supposed to belong to WindClan!" yowled Deadstar. "They are our natural prey!"

Foxshadow looked at Mudclaw in confusion. "The prey is on RiverClan land?"

"They probably drove it onto their land when we weren't here to defend it," meowed Mudclaw, bristling.

"You mean, _Brokenstar_ probably drove it onto their land," meowed Ratscar, rising, "when they took over the territory WindClan abandoned."

Mudclaw hissed angrily. "We didn't abandon our territory! We were forced out!"

"By _Brokenstar!_ " snarled Foxshadow. "Have you already forgotten what that evil cat has done!? To everyone!?"

"Of course WindClan remembers!" Mudclaw yowled back. "That doesn't give RiverClan the right to steal prey!"

"SILENCE!"

Foxshadow ducked her head and twisted it to look at Bluestar, ears flattened.

In the silence that followed, Nightstar spoke up. His raspy voice carried over across the whole Gathering. "Ratscar and Foxshadow are right. We should not be blaming RiverClan for something that is not their fault." He looked at Deadstar. "Without WindClan to keep its rabbits in check, they had naturally spread to other Clan territories in search of more room to have their kits. Besides, the prey that is on RiverClan's land belongs to RiverClan, no matter what kind of prey it is."

"RiverClan has always fed on fish," protested Deadstar. "They should not eat the rabbits."

Nightstar lifted his head. "ShadowClan has fed on fish before, as we have rabbits. Our land is covered in marsh, so it is only natural that we learn to fish when the water is clearest, and rabbits often enter our territory from Twolegplace."

"ThunderClan has also previously feasted on rabbit," meowed Bluestar, "before they were driven out and killed by dogs. Also, our deputy constantly makes sure we have food available at every opportunity. Tonight, we even ate owl. Once, a ThunderClan warrior fed on snakes." Bluestar lifted her head, her voice carrying over the silence. "When our elders are starving and our kits have no milk, we do not always turn to expanding our territories in a desperate need for prey. There are always new kinds of food to be found, no matter what it tastes like."

"Then we are all agreed," meowed Stonestar, a touch relieved. "RiverClan may eat the rabbits that are on RiverClan territory."

"Yes," meowed Bluestar.

"Agreed," meowed Nightstar with a glance at Deadstar. "Perhaps it is WindClan who need to learn about other prey on their own territory."

Foxshadow moved away from Mudclaw, rejoining Blackclaw and also Ratscar, who had moved to join Blackclaw after Nightstar's outspoken support.

"I suppose," meowed Deadstar, looking unhappy. He dipped his head. "WindClan apologizes for accusing RiverClan of prey-stealing."

Stonestar dipped his head. "RiverClan accepts. Does WindClan have any other news to report?"

"Yes," meowed Deadstar. "Rushtail passed away last quarter moon. He walks with StarClan now."

Foxshadow frowned. The oldest cat in the forest had now passed on. She dipped her head, along with Blackclaw and Ratscar. Mudclaw did the same, looking grieved.

"ShadowClan will now share it's news," meowed Nightstar. "We have been spotting dogs on the border with ThunderClan over the last half-moon. In the last two days, a few dogs have settled in the territory east of ShadowClan's border. They have been disturbing our prey, as well." He paused, gathering strength. "Swanwing has safely given birth to four new kittens. We have also received new and old members from cats who abandoned DarkClan."

"Are you sure that's wise?" meowed Deadstar, bristling. "Deerfoot isn't the best warrior since he's switched Clans twice now."

ShadowClan meowed disagreement, but Foxshadow couldn't help but nod at those words, even if the name confused her. Who was Deerfoot?

Beside her, Ratscar looked uncomfortable.

Bluestar looked thoughtful. "May I ask if they have remade their oaths to you and ShadowClan?"

The black tom blinked. "We did not believe that was necessary."

"Deerfoot broke his oath to ShadowClan when he left for DarkClan," Deadstar hissed. "It makes no sense trusting a cat who might break it again. The same could be said of the other warriors."

"ShadowClan forgives its kin," meowed Nightstar sharply, dipping his head. "That is all."

Foxshadow frowned. "Sounds like ShadowClan could be in a bit of trouble, Ratscar."

The dark brown tom hesitated. "Yes, we could be," he conceded. "As does ThunderClan."

Foxshadow flicked an ear, making no comment.

"RiverClan will now speak. Our Clan is well fed and flourishing. Thanks to the discovery of rabbits on our territory, we did not suffer as much when the water and fish were poisoned early this moon. But the river is clean now, and we continue to feast on the fish." He paused to proud yowls from his Clan. "Also, Shadepelt's and Leopardfur's kits have been made apprentices. Foxpaw, Dapplepaw, and Mintpaw were able to join us today. Hawkpaw, Toadpaw, Frogpaw, and Mothpaw were left at camp." He dipped his head. "That is all."

Foxshadow shifted uncomfortably. ThunderClan was next.

Bluestar lifted her head and spoke loudly. "ShadowClan spoke well when they mentioned the dogs on our territory. The territory northeast of our camp is overrun with them, and twolegs have taken over our territory in the southeast. As a result, we have been forced to extend our borders on neutral territory. Though we have eaten every piece of prey we could find, the dogs continue to scare our rabbits, snakes, and birds away." She paused. "The dogs have also been responsible for the death of many of our warriors and apprentices. Runningwind and Swiftwind have gone to join StarClan. So have, Eaglepaw, Beepaw, Sootpaw, Rainpaw, Frostpaw, and Icepaw. Our young warriors Brightface, Cinderheart, and Thornclaw have also been seriously wounded, but they live."

Sounds of horror at the tremendous loss that ThunderClan suffered echoed in the clearing. Foxshadow refused to look at either Mudclaw or Ratscar, who openly gaped at her, as her gaze landed on the ground. She felt Blackclaw's tail lightly brush her back in comfort. There was a long moment of silence for those lives lost.

"We thank RiverClan for their help during that time. We still require more territory, but instead of simply marking new territory, we instead request that RiverClan allow us to take back Sunningrocks."

After such a speech, even RiverClan was silent, unable to protest after the reveal. Foxshadow wondered what Stonestar looked like, and she glanced at Blackclaw. The stoic tom had stiffened, eyes wide, but he blinked and the emotion quickly went away. He dipped his head slightly.

"ShadowClan was unaware," choked out Nightstar, "that the damage was so severe." He dipped his head. "We grieve for ThunderClan's loss."

"WindClan grieves for your loss as well," Deadstar meowed sympathetically. "We understand what it is like to lose so many at one time. This is a tragedy. The Forest will not forget this."

" _Of course_ ," meowed Stonestar sympathetically. "RiverClan will give you Sunningrocks. We have no need of that territory anymore, and it is obvious that your need for it is great. We are sorry we could not help more."

"ThunderClan thanks RiverClan for their generosity." Despite her tone, Foxshadow felt that Bluestar was swallowing a lot of pride. "ThunderClan will remember this for moons to come."

When Nightstar bounded down the rock, Ratscar rose to his paws. "It seems like the Gathering is over. I wish you both well."

Mudclaw did not wait and bounded away to rejoin his Clan, his leader following at leisurely yet limping pace.

Foxshadow meowed to Blackclaw. "I hope Shadepelt is okay. She didn't seem to know about our losses before. She's going to feel terrible."

The smokey black tom shifted uncomfortably. "She will live," he managed, sounding strained. "Mistyfoot will help."

The she-cat sensed that Blackclaw didn't know how to speak to his daughter. She touched his shoulder sympathetically. "Shadepelt is strong and intelligent. She may not understand why you didn't tell her this before, but she will one day and she'll forgive you for it."

Blackclaw blinked. "I do not think so. She likes you very much. She would have wanted to know how bad it was."

"She is getting too friendly," meowed Foxshadow worriedly. "She will not be able to face ThunderClan in battle. No, she will not be able to face _me_."

"I do not know what to tell her," meowed Blackclaw.

With a nod, Foxshadow rose to her paws. "I would rather she hated me than betray the warrior code by accident. Tell her..." She hesitated. "Tell her that Heavystep is right about me. That she should just ask Primroseleaf about what happened. And tell Primroseleaf that she needs to put me in a bad light. If that doesn't work, then nothing will."

"Are you sure about this?" meowed Blackclaw. "She thinks of you like a second mother."

"And I think of her as my first daughter," meowed Foxshadow, "which is why I believe this is the best decision I can make for her. Maybe she will learn to understand or maybe not, but she shouldn't have to be put in a position where she has to betray her Clan because of me."

"Thank you," meowed Blackclaw, growing quiet. "If not for Mistyfoot or you being ThunderClan, I would have asked you to become my mate."

Foxshadow laughed. "I'm happy with the mate I have! And I'm sure so are you."

"Yes," meowed Blackclaw. "It would have torn me apart if I had to choose between you and Mistyfoot."

A comfortable silence fell between them.

"Do you know who is going to become deputy after you?" asked Blackclaw.

"Fireheart," meowed Foxshadow without missing a beat. "He may not be a good deputy but he is a good thinker, calm and gentle, but strong when he needs to be. His first impulse is to negotiate, which will save us a lot of wars down the line. We need that in a leader."

Blackclaw started. "You mean, Fireheart is going to become leader." He paused. "A kittypet?"

"Do twolegs still own him?" Foxshadow asked. "I'm genuinely curious."

Blackclaw said nothing.

"Fireheart has been in our Clan for sixteen moons," meowed Foxshadow. "He knows the warrior code better than some other cats I could mention, and he has made a lot of tough decisions without once being wrong about them. He is a great warrior and will make a worthy leader." She flicked an ear. "Whoever he picks for deputy might be the cat who sees you next moon."

"So soon?" Blackclaw meowed quietly.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "Unfortunately."

"It was good to see you then. I hope to be able to speak with you before I retire."

"I hope for the same." _If StarClan doesn't kill me first_.

Blackclaw nodded and stood up. "See you, Foxshadow."

She purred. "See you, Blackclaw. Take care of Shadepelt for me."

"Always."

After Blackclaw had padded away, Foxshadow headed towards her Clanmates. Dustpelt was waiting, his tail twitching anxiously.

"What was that about?" he asked, glaring at the disappearing RiverClan deputy.

"A final good-bye," Foxshadow meowed, mockingly worried. "He was very emotional. I had to hold him up or he might have fallen over trying to contain his wails."

Dustpelt snorted. "Out of that tom? He's like a stone wall."

Foxshadow purred in amusement, but kept silent, deciding to keep quiet for now. She still had to prepare the Clan for a bad leaf-fall, and she didn't want Dustpelt pressing her to leave for the nursery right now.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't forget to check out alphaofdarkness' DA for fanart! They are really amazing!  
**

 **Omg, I have just hit the Ch62 mark and it looks like there are more chapters to write! Hopefully I can get them done before I get swamped with a new job now that I have graduated college! Woo!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this 8.6k chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	63. A Dangerous Path pt 2

**A/N: There is some new fanart of Foxshadow! This first one was done by BraveSeeker3! She's Awake on quotev. Here's the link (I prey it shows up).**  
 **www. quotev. c-o-m / story/ 10895453/ Fanart-for-Fanfics  
Remove spaces and then remove dashes from the c-o-m but nothing else. If the link doesn't work for you guys, don't be afraid to PM me. The second one is artwork of all the apprentices done by S1L3NTK1LL3RJAY. Just start with the base domain url for deviantart and add:** **art/The-Legend-Begins-The-Aftermath-743723763**

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush: Lol. Thanks for the review!**

 **S1L3NT: Thank you so much! (1) I don't know if it's the extra length of the chapter of just the tonnes of stuff that happened, but I'm glad! Hope this one is just as good! (2) Stonestar has always done what he thought was right, even in canon, which is why he disobeyed Tigerstar and refused to kill Stormpaw and Featherpaw. (3) Blackclaw might be the closest I'm going to get to writing a emotionally stunted character. He's not quiet autistic but he shows some signs. (4) Glad you asked first!**

 **Gamelover41592: Thank you so much! And thanks for the review! They keep me going no matter how little people might have to say. Much appreciated.**

 **AnonChan1: I've just graduated college but have no job so... I have a lot more free time now than before. No writer's block yet. (I) OMG, that would be hilarious. I woulder if Foxshadow would be insane or something, dragging his stuffed carcass around. Ehg, kinda got dark there... though I love the things you can find in the dark. *evil laughter* (II) Poor Dustpelt. (III) We shall see. Depends on if Darkpaw really does care for his Clan or not. (IV) One of her many flaws. She also always acts like she knows best despite not thinking of it through and knowing that her information is outdated. (V) Mousefur is probably the only one who would, but she's also the first to feel betrayed by it. The fall would be magnificient... (VI) I actually had to look that word up. Nooo, she isn't getting that worked up over it. Not even close. (VII) Losing her kits... or something far worse. (VIII) They never thought of owls as prey, only predators. The popular interpretation of the warrior code says that a warrior doesn't kill anything or anyone unless necessary for self-defense. Driving it off is enough to protect kits and Foxshadow. Brambleclaw just was doing it the warrior. Of course he doesn't think the owl is a warrior. (IX) He didn't! (X) Two deputies have claw in their name... then there's the future deputies, Rowanclaw and Brambleclaw. It's a popular suffix for future deputies, lol. (XI) Her kits. Darkpaw. Fireheart. I have a list. But the book would end, that's for sure. (XII) Indeed. Too much fighting already. Too much death. (XIII) MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  
**

 **WolfWriter123:** **It was back when WindClan was still gone, and they were sending warriors to bring them back.** **Foxshadow met Blackclaw and Shadepelt/Shadepaw in chapter 16; Fire and Ice pt 4.** **A _reaally_ long time ago, lol.  
**

 **Shadowmist of ShadowClan: Thank you so much! Oh, that was back when Primroseleaf was a new warrior apprentice without any training. RiverClan tried to defend Sunningrocks with a few warriors, her and her siblings. Foxshadow scared her so badly that she decided that the warrior life wasn't for her and became a medicine cat instead. Lucky for RiverClan, because Mudfur would die before Mothpaw was ready to go from being a warrior to medicine cat.**

 **BraveSeeker3: Thank you so much! Sorry I've been slow with the PMs.**

 **Catlover49: YES! THE KITS ARE ALMOST HERE!**

 **Stormbreeze: So does Foxshadow. Thank you so much for the review!**

 **Blazefeather: Good to see a new reviewer! Welcome! (1) Thank you so much! (2) That means so much to me! Thank you! I'm trying to come up with original ideas but I have only met with failure so far. T^T (3) Darkpaw does feel regret! I'm glad you noticed. But even so, he had made himself out to be a danger to ThunderClan. Foxshadow did what she thought was just. (4) Awww thank you. (5) Awww. He misses Clanlife, too. (6) Wow, so much reading. I'm glad you loved it! (7) Wow! Thank you so much! (8) Mistleleaf is best cat. Mistleshadow ftw. (9) You're welcome! I hope you will leave another review in the future but you don't have to if you don't want to. I just feel better when people tell me what they think of my story. :)  
**

* * *

It was long after the dawn patrol had left when hissing and yowls of challenge from the camp woke Foxshadow. She rose to her paws just as Longtail padded into the den to wake her.

"It's a WindClan warrior," he meowed, sounding nervous and annoyed. "We found him on our side of the border. He asked to see you and Bluestar."

The massive she-cat pushed passed him and padded towards the unfamiliar light brown tabby warrior. Ravenfeather was already there talking to the tom in hushed conversations.

"Ravenfeather," meowed Foxshadow, somewhat bothered. "Why don't you introduce the Clan to your friend?"

The black tom turned to face her, gesturing with his tail back at the warrior. "This is Onewhisker. I met him on the journey to find WindClan."

Recognizing the name, Foxshadow padded up to the warrior. "What news does WindClan wish to share with us?"

Onewhisker hesitated, glancing at Ravenfeather as if wanting to discuss something with the black tom first, before dipping his head towards the ThunderClan deputy. "A quarter moon ago, we found a dark tabby apprentice on our border with Fourtrees. He was heavily wounded and close to death, but we tended to his wounds and revived him. Today, he woke up and told us he was from ThunderClan."

"How come you weren't able to scent ThunderClan on him before?" asked Mousefur, bristling.

"Mousefur," meowed Foxshadow in a tone she herself couldn't identify. "Let him speak."

"He told us that his name was Darkpaw and that he was the deputy's apprentice," continued Onewhisker.

Foxshadow lifted her head and looked around. "Has someone gone to get Bluestar?"

"I think Fireheart did," meowed Brackenfur, who was standing behind her.

"Brackenfur," Foxshadow meowed loudly. "Whoever is still standing behind me when I turn around is going on a patrol." She waited a few second as she heard the cats scramble to their dens and when she turned around, there was no one there besides her former apprentice, not even Tawnypaw or Ashpaw. So, she looked at Brackenfur, who thankfully looked as serious as she felt. "Fetch Tawnypaw and Mistleleaf, and any cats you want to bring on a border patrol."

Brackenfur dipped his head and raced off. When she turned around, Bluestar had already approached them.

"What's going on, Foxshadow?" Bluestar meowed with a glance at Onewhisker. "Why is the WindCLan cat still here?"

"WindClan found Darkpaw," meowed Foxshadow. "I want to bring a patrol over to see him."

"Bluestar looked at Onewhisker for confirmation and the WindClan cat nodded with a glance at Mousefur. "We found him a week ago, but his scent was masked by heather so we couldn't figure out what Clan he had come from. The wounds looked like he had fought with a warrior and been driven off like a rogue, but we wanted to make sure that it hadn't been Tigerclaw's doing."

The blue-gray queen blinked and dipped her head in gratitude. "Do you know who did it?"

"No, Darkpaw wouldn't say."

Foxshadow felt sick. I've _traumatized him. He's afraid I'll find him and kill him if he speaks._

At a shocked noise from Onewhisker, Foxshadow turned to see Brackenfur had returned with Mistleleaf and Tawnypaw, plus Thornclaw and Brightface trailing behind them. Foxshadow looked at Brightface's wounded face and Thornclaw's shortened tail with a frown and turned away, fur ruffled. Had Onewhisker made the connection?

The white medicine cat apprentice padded towards Onewhisker, looking concerned. "What are Darkpaw's wounds?"

Onewhisker shifted uncomfortably. "He has deep scratch marks across his face, a broken hindleg, and half a tail." His gaze landed on Thornclaw and Brightface again, and Foxshadow glanced back, hoping Cinderheat would decide to walk out at that moment. If Onewhisker hadn't already seen her in the crowd limp away.

The odd-eyed she-cat looked down, and Foxshadow wondered if she was refusing to look at her deputy. Had she guessed at what Foxshadow had done? When the medicine cat spoke, her voice was even and calm, and filled with a sense of knowing. Foxshadow felt doom fall over her.

"It sounds as if StarClan has punished Darkpaw for what happened."

The other cats present looked surprised. Mousefur stepped forward. "Are you saying that a rogue did this to him?"

"No," meowed Mistleleaf. "It is obvious that a warrior did this."

 _Yes_ , thought Foxshadow, licking her dry lips, _a five-clawed warrior._

"But that warrior acted under the will of StarClan," meowed Mistleleaf firmly. "Whether it was Tigerclaw who did it or not."

Bluestar looked confused. "If it was Tigerclaw, how could he have been acting under the will of StarClan?"

"I think what Mistleleaf means," meowed Foxshadow carefully, "is that StarClan orchestrated it so that Darkpaw was wounded in that way. Or, at the very least, allowed it and approved of the results."

The ThunderClan leader's eyes had gone wide as she looked from her deputy to her medicine cat. "Is this true, Mistleleaf?"

The white she-cat nodded slowly, still refusing to look at Foxshadow.

"Perhaps we should see for ourselves what happened to Darkpaw," meowed Foxshadow, feeling awkward. "Mistleleaf, Tawnypaw, and I will go to WindClan territory to see him for ourselves and confirm what Mistleleaf says."

"No," meowed Bluestar, quickly. "I want you to stay here, Foxshadow. ThunderClan needs you to organize more hunting patrols." She stood up. "I'll go."

Foxshadow looked at Fireheart before looking away. "Very well, Brackenfur and his patrol will escort all you to the border and then they will remark it. Onewhisker, if WindClan wishes to speak with ThunderClan again, just wait for our dawn patrol to show up on the border. I do not want to cause trouble with your Clan if another WindClan warrior is caught on our side of the border when you can just wait for a patrol to pass."

"I understand," meowed Onewhisker, dipping his head and rising to his paws. He looked at Bluestar. "If it is okay with you, I would like to lead the patrol after we leave ThunderClan territory."

The ThunderClan leader dipped her head. Brackenfur also rose and took up a position beside Bluestar. The blue-gray queen headed out of the den with the patrol following behind her. At the rear, Mistleleaf stopped and looked back at Foxshadow.

"Darkpaw won't tell them," meowed Mistleleaf.

With a quick glance around, Foxshadow bounded towards Mistleleaf. "He should tell them it was Tigerclaw. If WindClan know how dangerous he is, they will be more focused on finding him instead of waging war with RiverClan."

"And shouldn't the Clans know how dangeorus you are, too?"

Foxshadow blinked. "I'm expecting." She searched Mistleleaf's cool gaze for emotion and felt a stab of pain. How distant had they grown? How distant would they continue to grow? "Tell Darkpaw that much, at least."

The white she-cat waited a few seconds before nodding stiffly and disappearing out the bramble tunnel. Foxshadow shifted on her paws, worried.

"What was that about?" Mousefur demanded, bristling as she stared at the place Mistleleaf had disappeared.

Foxshadow looked at her and decided not to answer. "Brambleclaw!" She spotted the black-and-brown tabby near the warriors den. "You and Mousefur are going to organize two hunting patrols! Brambleclaw, take anyone but the apprentices to the territory northwest of the camp. Mousefur, take a few warriors to Sunningrocks. If you see Sandstorm, tell her that she must prepare a hunting assessment for the apprentices after sunhigh in the far southwest part of our territory, near the barkground."

Brambleclaw nodded his understanding but Mousefur looked upset after her question being blown off. She gestured for her brother-from-another-litter, Ravenfeather, to come with her and called to Fernspots, before disappearing out the bramble tunnel. A half second later, Brambleclaw followed with Longtail and Dustpelt at his side. Fireheart watched all this quietly and padded towards Foxshadow when the others were gone.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"I need you to keep an eye on the camp while I'm gone," meowed Foxshadow smoothly. "I'm going to see what I can do about the dogs."

"I'll come with you," meowed Fireheart. "Sandstorm can take care of the camp."

Foxshadow hesitated. "Sandstorm has her paws busy with the apprentices and assessments, but Cinderheart can handle taking care of the camp. You can inform her. I'll wait here for you."

Fireheart dipped his head and padded away towards the warrior den. The deputy contemplated leaving Fireheart behind and padding into a patch of mint to cover her scent, but realized that would only make her look suspicious in Fireheart's eyes. When the tom came trotting back, he looked excited, and she felt bad for even thinking about dumping him.

"Do everything I gesture for you do and don't ask questions," meowed Foxshadow. "The dogs have sharp noses so we'll be disguising our scent first, then we will check the dens around Snakerocks for dog scent. After that, I expect you to follow my lead without talking, unless I do something that could endanger your life. Consider this a test of your stealth. Understood?"

Fireheart looked almost as if she had wounded his pride but it quick bled away to determination. "Yes, deputy."

"We are going to avoid tansy," meowed Foxshadow. "I'm expecting."

"Congratul-" Fireheart found a tail stuffed into his mouth.

"No talking," meowed Foxshadow. "First rule. Second rule is...?"

Fireheart opened his mouth but halted, confused, before gesturing with his tail uncertainly in a "take the lead" signal. Foxshadow purred, turned and padded out of the bramble tunnel and up the ravine. She didn't check to see if Fireheart was following, and made her way towards the nearest patch of lavender, which was located around the edge of the Sandy Hollow. She didn't want to use the patch of mint or rosemary which grew inside the camp because she didn't want any of the cats to ask questions about where she was going. Fireheart was staying quiet behind her, working double time to keep up with her. Foxshadow was pleased that he kept quiet; she didn't want him to ask questions she didn't have answers to.

After their scent was covered by the lavender, Foxshadow made her way towards Snakerocks, ducking, dodging and weaving under and through the trees at a fast trot. She paused every once and a while to listen for the sounds of dogs sniffling through the undergrowth or howling to let each other know they were there, but the air was still except for the quiet padding of Fireheart catching up behind her. She resisted the temptation to climb a tree and just hop from tree to tree to get there. A part of her selfishly wanted to keep that skill away from Fireheart. Besides, she was confident she could handle a dog if they ran into one.

The deputy considered it strange for the dogs to be "scattered" but still be smelled within the boundaries of ThunderClan territory despite never being seen by the ShadowClan border patrol. They entered the clearing surrounding the shattered remains of a public statue of something Foxshadow could never identify, the undergrowth struggling to reclaim the stones, covering them flat sides and chipped edges in moss. The smell of adders and snakes had faded over the last few days, but she could still smell them nearby, while the dog smell had been faded for a few days.

She turned to look for Fireheart and saw his tail disappear over some stones. She followed, nosing up beside him, and froze at the sight before them. A tan-colored chihuahua lay unmoving on the ground, covered in flies and with a massive bite taken out of its stomach. When she padded forward, all she could smell was decay and dog. She glanced at Fireheart, who looked more frightened than Foxshadow felt, and she leaned forward to press her nose into his cheek in reassurance. He leaned back and shook himself, gave her a confused glance.

A low curious bark sounded from the edge of the clearing. Both cats froze.

"Don't move," Foxshadow meowed quietly to Fireheart, keeping her tail still. She turned her head slowly until she got a good look at the dog's profile. She was suddenly glad she had told Fireheart to stay still.

Standing across from her, drool dripping from its jowls, was some kind of boxer and pit bull hybrid. Foxshadow didn't have to look down to know that it was responsible for the dead chihuahua. A yipping, energetic dog like that was bounded and determined to trigger the killer instinct in a pitbull, especially one as wild and hungry as this one. If either of them moved, they would be dead.

 _That thing must have been the one that went after the apprentices_ , she thought with growing horror. _It would have killed anything that moved._

The pale brown dog gave a low whine and padded towards them, nose down and eager to poke the beehive.

"Don't move," Foxshadow repeated even as she ignored her own advice and took a few steps away from Fireheart, watching as the dog stilled, its eyes followed her. Its tail wagged in excitement.

 _No_ , she thought as she glanced between its hindlegs, _he._

Males were far more aggressive than females, but pitbull-boxer males were ten times more aggressive than male dogs, with generations of fighting instincts to make them even more dangerous that other docile breeds. It was the equivalent of staring down the eyes of a rabid wolf.

And dogs took staring as a challenge, a call for a fight; it was part of the reason why they had problems with cats.

As she stared into its dumb brown eyes, he _growled._

Internally swearing up a storm, Foxshadow gave one last "In the name of StarClan, Fireheart, don't move!" and then bolted towards the Thunderpath as if all of the Dark Forest was on her heels, the dog barking as it pursued. She _felt_ the Thunderpath under her paws before she even _saw_ she was on it, and she instantly darted back across the Thunderpath, zigzagging down the street, the dog hot on her heels.

 _Where's a monster when you need one!?_ she thought, with a glance skyward. It was nearing sunhigh – where was the rush hour traffic?

" _Treecutplace is overrun with twoleg stench,"_ Dustpelt's words echoed in her mind.

Internally cursing, the dog practically on top of her, she darted back, weaving through the mutt's legs, and hared back down the Thunderpath, hoping beyond hope that at least one monster would show up. She passed a sign that red "Speed Limit 25" and _swore even_ harder.

 _That's practically a love tap!_ she internally wailed, racing through the undergrowth towards Lion's Trap.

When she neared the top of the rise, she didn't hesitate to bound down the steep slope. She kept running, the sound of the dog barking behind her. She reached Tallpines, and the undergrowth melted away into nothing but flat earth and pine needles. She slowed and glanced over her shoulder, spotting the dog shoving its way through blackthorn bushes. He yelped and growled, refusing to give up despite the pain.

 _Pitbulls!_ she interally wailed. _Of course, they'd be bred to ignore pain!_

If the dog had a good straight run, it would easily catch her with its long legs. Best to stay close and force it to weave around the trees and roots with her.

She ducked and weaved around the trees, sometimes even running the dog around in circles, distracting him. She was lopping like a rabbit over the roots, careful to keep changing up her strategy to prevent the dog from getting a clue. She reached the barkwall surrounding Treecutplace and realized with growing horror that there was no undergrowth to duck through. Just long flat earth. Terror forced her legs to speed up. Her spine flexed and stretched just like Runningwind had taught her, allowing her legs to stretch even farther. She was flying.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the entrance. She shot passed, halted, twisted sideways so she wasn't bowled over, and darted back, forcing the pitbull to stop, teeth snapping inches from her tail. She hadn't realized how close it was until she she was passing the pitbull, only a tail's length away. He struggled to turn, barking wildly, before quickly following in pursuit.

Foxshadow raced through the entrance and stopped, turning. It was too small for the pitbull, but that didn't stop the dog from trying. He slammed into the fence, rattling it so hard that Foxshadow half expected it to fly away. His head and forepaw were all the way through the hole, and he clawed the ground with one paw, snarling and snapping at her wildly. Foxshadow backed away, her legs shaking with exhaustion, and she settled into a crouch. The mutt whined and backed off, clawing the ground and sending dirt flying. It would only take a few more moments before he had dug his through. Foxshadow backed off, tail wagging nervously, ready to run the moment the mutt tried to push himself through again.

The dog was determined. He crouched and prepared to crawl through the hole, clawing the ground as his hindlegs kicked. The bottom of the fence scraped against his back, and he whined loudly as it caught on his skin and yanked him back. He wiggled left and right, pulling himself through. Foxshadow rose to her paws, ready to to bolt. She felt like her claws were going to fall off from how hard she was digging them into the ground.

With a triumphant yelp, the dog pulled himself through, and, without hesitation, Foxshadow turned and bolted. The pit bull mix was in hot pursuit, barking mad. The scent of twolegs quickly surrounded them, and Foxshadow ducked under bushes to ensnare him, ears looking out for the familiar sound of human beings. She darted passed a small cabin, almost halting at the sound of humans inside, and darted around the corner. She let out a loud shriek, scrambling up the nearest gutter, yowling loudly. The dog followed the sound, leaping towards her but she was already out of range and scrambling up onto the house.

The door of the cabin swung open. "What is going on out here?" demanded a twoleg.

The dog paid him no mind. Foxshadow meowed loudly.

The human took in the scene. "This dog has a cat trapped on the roof!"

"Save me from this horrible beast!" Foxshadow meowed. "Oh, save me, kind humans! I'm- I'm a damsel in distress!"

Another human joined the first. "That looks like a fightin' dog."

"A boxer?" The first human looked really concerned now.

Foxshadow shook her head. "Pit bull!"

"Maybe," said the second human.

"It's a pit bull!" Being rescued by incompetent humans was going to ruin her day. And theirs if they didn't wise up quickly. "Pit bull!" she wailed uselessly.

"Get the shotgun," said the first man. "Before it notices us."

Foxshadow watched the second man disappear inside, seemingly glad to be momentarily out of the danger zone. The first man watched the dog quietly, as the boxer mix bounded away and began to measure the wall carefully.

"Please don't," meowed Foxshadow, backing away from the edge. She'd seen boxers do this trick on youtube. It was impressive then, but scary now.

The boxer mutt took a running start and bounded up the wall, running straight up. For a few seconds, he was eye level with her, legs sticking out so far that Foxshadow was convinced he could knock her off the wall. His teeth snapped at her, hot air washing over her eyes, making her squint. He tried to hook his forepaws into the gutter, but failed to gain purchase. The dog fell back to the earth, bouncing off the wall before landing awkwardly on the ground. Foxshadow shook hard, letting out a plaintive wail. The boxer watched her.

The door slammed, rattling, and the second man returned. This time the dog did turn, watching them, panting.

Foxshadow yowled at the dog. "Pay attention to me!" She looked around, noticed a fallen branch and grabbed a twig, snapping it off. She carefully gripped in her paws and quickly threw it at the dog, hitting his hip. The dog whipped around, and she yowled again to get his attention, waving her outstretched claws at him. The humans were forgotten.

The first man quickly loaded the pump-action shotgun.

"Smart cat," noted the second man. "Prolly saved us from gettin' bit."

"Yup," the first man said, setting the shotgun to his shoulder, "it's getting ready to race again."

The boxer backed up again. Foxshadow was convinced someone had trained him to do this. He paused-

 _BOOM!_

The dog yelped and twisted, turning towards the source of the sound. The first man pumped the shotgun, prepared to aim. The second man cursed and darted toward the door. The pit bull started towards them, making for the second man.

 _BOOM!_

Then he suddenly collapsed mid-stride, a hole in his head. Foxshadow looked away. She couldn't stop shaking.

The first man fired another shot into the carcass for good measure, pushing it over. He grabbed the muzzle and pulled back the teeth, lips wrinkling in disgust. "Looks like he had a meal recently. Probably a cat."

 _Or another dog,_ Foxshadow thought, remembering the chihuahua.

"Is it dead?" The second man bravely and slowly came out from around the corner.

"Yup, he is," said the first man. "We'll say it was trying to attack us and shot it. Might be rabid."

"How's the cat?" The second man walked towards the cabin, looking up at Foxshadow. "Hey, kitty, kitty."

The first man stood up and stepped over the dead dog. "Don't touch it," he warned. "It might have been bit. Could be rabid."

Foxshadow meowed, disagreeing.

"It's scared," said the second man, frowning. "We should help it."

"If it got up there, it can get itself down." The first man fussed with his gun. "I'll go inside and report this."

The second man ignored him. "Come on. I can help you down."

"I don't doubt it," Foxshadow meowed, waving her forepaws at him. "Pay attention to me. I might jump."

She bunched her muscles, ready to leap onto the man's face, but worried she might land with her claws extended. She didn't want to give the man cat-scratch fever.

"Can I get a security blanket?" she asked. "Maybe something soft to land on?" She paused. "Something _other_ than you?"

But the man didn't understand her meowing, so she was forced to think of another solution. She turned to the nearest branch and grabbed it before pushing it off the edge towards the human. She grabbed another branch and dropped it in the same spot.

"Does this make sense?" she asked him.

But the man simply watched her in confusion. "Come on. I'll catch you."

Foxshadow snorted and shook her head, pointing a paw down at the branches. She meowed loudly, trying to get him to understand. She identified recognition in his eyes.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Come and see this!"

The first man took a while to reappear. He looked up at her briefly before looking at his fellow twoleg. "What?"

"It piled these branches up," said the second. "Then it started pointing at them."

"So, it knows a trick or two," said the first. "What were you doing before that?"

"Just holding up my hands like this." The second man demonstrated the gesture.

Foxshadow sat down. "Well, this is getting us nowhere." She prepared to jump on the branches but aborted before she could fall off the cabin. She let out a loud meow.

"I wouldn't try catching her," said the first man. "If she nicked you with her claws, you might get cat scratch fever."

Foxshadow purred. "Yes, an intelligent man." She stretched out one forepaw towards the man, claws extended and meowed. "Get me a towel."

The second man dropped his arms. "How am I supposed to catch it?"

"You actually think it will jump into your arms?" The first man laughed to himself. "No cat would."

"I will," said Foxshadow, preparing to jump. "I promise I will. Just get me a towel."

"Maybe she would," said the second man. "She looks ready to jump."

The first man looked up at her thoughtfully. "I'll get the towel."

Foxshadow waited for him to return. He had a mid-sized towel in his arms and gave two corners to the second man, so they could stretch it out. He gestured for the other man to get closer to the cabin.

"Here, kitty, kitty," said the second man, dropping one corner to pat the towel.

Foxshadow stared at the towel. "Could you have gotten a bath towel? It looks small."

The two men waited. With a sigh, Foxshadow bunched her muscles and breathed, "StarClan, please don't kill me." Then she leaped.

The deputy was glad she often jumped through the tree branches, because she landed right in the center of the taut towel. It bobbed with her weight for a second before going slack and she landed safely on the ground.

"There you go, kitty," said the second man. "Don't let those dogs get you, okay?"

With an appreciative meow, she padded off the towel and onto the grass. She looked back at the two men who continued to watch her. With another meow and a wave of her tail, she hared into the forest and raced towards the barkwall. In a few moments, she had scaled and passed it, and landed back into the familiar ThunderClan forest.

With a sigh of relief, she collapsed, welcoming the noise of the forest around her. Her legs suddenly felt sore from all the running, and she didn't want to move.

A rustling of bushes made her lift her head fractionally. A white head poked out, green eyes wide. "Mom?"

"Cloudpaw," Foxshadow breathed, relieved. "I'm so glad that dog didn't get you."

"Mom?" Cloudpaw asked, confused, as he padded closer to her and leaned down so far that they almost touched noses. "Are you okay?"

She grew quiet. "My legs are sore, but I'm fine."

Cloudpaw looked like he didn't believe it. "I'll get Sandstorm."

"I might need some thyme," Foxshadow murmured.

The white tom waved his tail to show he had heard before padding away, a tiny limp in one of his back paws. Foxshadow listened tensely to the silence for the distant sound of barking dogs. Cloudpaw quickly returned with Sandstorm and Snowpaw, and settled down to press into Foxshadow's side.

"Foxshadow!" meowed the pale warrior. "What happened? I thought you went out with Fireheart! Is he okay?"

"He might already be back in camp," meowed Foxshadow. "The dog chased me, not him."

"A dog?" asked Snowpaw, looking frightened. "Where?"

"It's dead," Foxshadow assured him. "The twolegs killed it with a thunderstick."

"Thunderstick?" echoed Sandstorm. "What's that?"

"A stick that twolegs point at things, it makes a boom like thunder, and then it kills whatever its pointed at." Foxshadow pressed into Cloudpaw. "The two humans in treecutplace's nest had one. When the dog stood still to jump at me, they killed it."

Sandstorm shook her head in wonder. "Monsters and now thundersticks. Whatever will they think of next?"

"Can you make it back to camp?" asked Cloudpaw, looking pointedly at Sandstorm. She flicked her ears guiltily before regaining her composure.

Foxshadow shook her head. "Can't move."

"Snowpaw," meowed Sandstorm, "go back to camp and ask for Brambleclaw."

"Where's Ashpaw?" asked Foxshadow. "Shouldn't he be with you?"

"He wanted to stay in camp to hear news of Darkpaw," meowed Sandstorm.

"And you think Snowpaw didn't?" meowed Foxshadow, struggling to rise. "Sounds to me like Ashpaw doesn't want to hunt for his Clan and is using that excuse to avoid it. Next time, he hunts alone from dawn to dusk, and you make sure he doesn't wander off."

The pale warrior shifted uncomfortably and dipped her head. "Yes, Foxshadow."

Snowpaw was still standing beside Sandstorm, looking between the fallen deputy and the pale warrior. Embarrassed, Sandstorm glared at him until he began to hare away back to camp.

"Apprentices these days," muttered Sandstorm.

Foxshadow didn't have to look at Cloudpaw to know he was flattening his ears. "When one apprentice disobeys, others follow. In their eyes, the importance of obeying the warrior code diminishea."

Sandstorm glanced at Cloudpaw, growing quiet. Everyone knew who to blame for what happened. Foxshadow lifted her head. "Darkpaw's disappearance has made it worse."

"I hope nothing bad has happened to him," meowed Cloudpaw, eyes wide.

"Too late for that," Foxshadow meowed quietly, putting her head in her paws. "Onewhisker reported that WindClan found him and that he was suffering from terrible wounds and had only woken up recently to tell them who he was and where he had come from."

The white tom flattened his ears and looked away, guilt written on his face.

"It isn't your fault, Cloudpaw. Whatever happens to Darkpaw is always his own fault. He would feel insulted if he thought that you thought yourself responsible. He is very independent." Foxshadow looked thoughtful. "No, I think it is _him_ who has inspired rebellion in our apprentices."

The apprentice looked somewhat relieved, but then his expression suddenly became thoughtful. "The day before we left... Darkpaw said that he knew a way for us to do something you hadn't done before. Like, we'd become warriors faster if we did it."

"You told me that before," meowed Foxshadow, going quiet. "Tawnypaw even confirmed it."

"You mean," meowed Sandstorm, surprised as she glanced between apprentice and deputy. "It was Darkpaw who came up with the idea to attack the dogs?"

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "Mousefur and I talked with all the apprentices to confirm the story. We told Bluestar about what had happened, but as you can see she didn't want to banish an apprentice."

The pale warrior nodded slowly in agreement. "It could have just been apprentices being apprentices."

Foxshadow narrowed her eyes but kept silent. No one else knew that Darkpaw was really Darkstripe reincarnated. It made her furious that Darkpaw would have gotten away with murder had Foxshadow not been there to deal it out. She sighed, relaxing, and leaning into Cloudpaw. "You should never have listened to Darkpaw."

"Yes, mom," meowed Cloudpaw quietly.

The thunder of cats running through the forest announced the arrival of Brambleclaw, Fireheart, and Brackenfur. The pale brown tabby tom arrived first, the fiery tom and black-and-brown tabby behind him.

"What happened?" asked Brackenfur, padding towards Foxshadow. "When we heard about what happened with the dog, we thought you had died."

Fireheart stepped forward. "I knew you weren't dead," he meowed, with a glance at Brackenfur, "but we _were_ worried."

The fox-colored she-cat looked from one to the other in silent appraisal. "I think... you all have a chance to become deputy after I'm gone."

"Don't say things like that," Brambleclaw meowed, fur ruffled. "You make it sound like you're dying."

"Not dying," meowed Foxshadow quietly, before struggling to rise to her paws. She sighed as her legs gave out. "I'm going to need help getting back to camp. My legs refuse to work. I haven't run so far and so fast in all my life."

"Lucky Brambleclaw is here then," meowed Brackenfur, an amused and relaxed smirk spreading across his face. "Come on, then. Bluestar returned a while ago, and she's been looking for you."

Foxshadow fell silent. She shifted, growing sad. "Yes, I suppose she would."

Brackenfur looked confused, before he was distracted by Brambleclaw moving forward to crouch beside her.

"I need you to try and rise," the black-striped tabby meowed, sounding embarrassed and awkward.

"We should all agree," meowed Foxshadow, amused, "that no one tells Dustpelt about this."

The warriors all shared amused glances, except for Brambleclaw who looked like his black-striped brown face had turned completely black in embarrassment. Foxshadow fought the soreness and exhaustion to stretch her legs as far as they were willing to go. She felt awkward when Brambleclaw nosed underneath her and stuck his head out from between her front legs, but relieved when she didn't slip off. His powerful muscles rippled as he stood up. Foxshadow made a surprised noise as she found herself hoisted off her paws.

"If I was a kit or apprentice," grunted Foxshadow, "this might be more enjoyable."

Brambleclaw grunted, sounding strained. "I wish you were a kit."

"Did you just call me fat?" Foxshadow teased.

Brambleclaw wisely did not respond, fur darkening.

The other three warriors purred in amusement as they quickly took up positions around them. Cloudpaw trailed behind, occasionally grasping Foxshadow's paw gently in his teeth to prevent her from falling off. On her other side, Fireheart did the same. In front, Sandstorm and Brackenfur lead the way back to camp, keeping an ear on the RiverClan border and towards treecutplace for dogs and twolegs.

As silence settled over the warriors, Foxshadow's thoughts turned to Darkpaw and Bluestar. Surely by now Bluestar knew what she had done to Darkpaw.

They padded up to the bramble tunnel entrance and Foxshadow was grateful to whatever warrior was smart enough to keep the tunnel as tall as possible so cats like Brambleclaw could carry injured warriors inside without straining to crouch. She watched Brackenfur leap over the bramble wall and made a mental note to ask Patchpelt if he was willing to organize cats together to make the bramble wall wider on the outside so cats would have more trouble leaping over it. Not that that would hinder Foxshadow, with her long SkyClan legs and massive build, but it would hinder RiverClan cats who lacked the SkyClan ability to leap as high and as far as possible for someone of their size.

Not that RiverClan cats leaped anywhere. Foxshadow doubted the so-called fatest cats in the forest would even attempt it. And the ShadowClan cats were too small. WindClan might if they had enough running space.

 _Of course, none of this matters if I'm banished the moment I can walk again._

As they padded into camp, Foxshadow already knew that Bluestar was present. The Clan had gathered underneath the Highrock to hear their leader's speech. Everyone fell silent when Brambleclaw padded in, and Bluestar cut herself off.

"What happened?" Bluestar demanded, launching herself off the Highrock and landing silently in the shadows. She padded gracefully but hurried over to them, looking to Fireheart for an explanation.

Foxshadow watched her quietly, for once unable to muster up any jealousy towards Bluestar asking Fireheart instead of her. She couldn't even feel dread, and she wondered if she was simply too tired to or that she had resigned herself to her fate.

"We went to Snakerocks to investigate the rumors of dogs. We found a dog carcass on the other side of the rocks when another dog appeared. Foxshadow ordered me to stay put and she raced away towards the Thunderpath. I don't know what happened to her after that. I returned to camp hoping she'd make her way there eventually."

Fireheart looked at Sandstorm, who picked up where he left off.

"I was hunting with the apprentices near the RiverClan border to the south when Cloudpaw came and told me he had found Foxshadow. She was lying beside the treecutplace barkwall, unable to move. I ordered Snowpaw to get Brackenfur so we could carry her back to camp. Foxshadow told me that she had been chased by a dog into treecutplace where a twoleg killed it with a thunderstick. Brackenfur, Brambleclaw, and Fireheart all came to help."

Bluestar twitched an ear. "A thunderstick?"

"Foxshadow described it as a stick that twolegs point at animals, that makes a sound like thunder, and kills them."

Fireheart and Brambleclaw shuddered, and Brackenfur looked uneasy.

Bluestar looked at Foxshadow with an unreadable expression. "Take her to the prisoner's den and tell Yellowfang she will need some thyme." She raised her voice. "I will speak to her once I am done speaking to the Clan."

Their leader turned and launched herself up to the Highrock, resuming her speech. Brambleclaw padded towards the other side of camp, and Foxshadow mewed for him to leave her at the entrance so she could listen to the whole speech. She felt calm, expectantly waiting for the tree to fall.

 _This is it,_ she thought.

"Cats of ThunderClan! I have been to WindClan and spoken with Darkpaw! He is severely injured and will not be able to move for another moon. Barkface has told us that he is currently fighting an infection in his injured hindleg and will not be able to use his leg even when he is fully healed. Mistleleaf has confirmed this."

Murmurs rose from the Clan, a mixture of pity and anger.

"StarClan has punished him for what happened," meowed Mousefur, whiskers twitching in satisfaction.

"But who did this to him?" asked Fireheart with a glance at Mousefur. "Surely it wasn't the will of StarClan?"

"Darkpaw was attacked," meowed Bluestar, and Foxshadow put her head in her paws and closed her eyes, "by Tigerclaw."

 _What?_

Foxshadow opened her eyes wide and looked at Bluestar incredulously. Out of the corner of her eye, Mousefur sucked in a breath and glanced at Foxshadow in surprise.

"Darkpaw admitted to me that he had helped Tigerclaw get revenge on ThunderClan by encouraging Cloudpaw to lead the apprentices to their deaths," continued Bluestar, her voice edged with disbelief. "Tigerclaw did not like the fact that Darkpaw did this to kill Cloudpaw instead of myself and Fireheart, so he punished Darkpaw for his disobedience. Tigerclaw scratched up Darkpaw's face, bite his tail in half, and broke his hindleg. Darkpaw managed to escape to WindClan territory, and the timely arrival of a WindClan patrol forced Tigerclaw to flee."

Foxshadow felt light-headed and confused. _Why did Darkpaw lie? For her sake?_

"What Bluestar says is true," meowed Mistleleaf calmly, but she wasn't looking at the Clan. Her odd-eyes were locked on Foxshadow's. "Darkpaw confessed to killing the apprentices and blamed Tigerclaw for his injuries."

A stunned silence settled over the whole clearing. Foxshadow's heart pounded in her chest, and she looked skyward in bewilderment. Was StarClan finally watching out for her? Or was it still just Raggedstar, Cloudstar, and a few others?

"That is all," meowed Bluestar. "I must now speak with my deputy."

Foxshadow shuddered. Even if Darkpaw did lie, Bluestar had probably seen that no normal cat had clawed Darkpaw's face. After all, a five-clawed paw gave one more scratch than a normal cat like Tigerclaw. She twisted around and clawed her way deeper under the bush for more privacy, her legs refusing to work properly as they shook with exhaustion. Yellowfang still hadn't arrived with the thyme Bluestar had asked for, and Foxshadow wondered if Yellowfang was waiting on purpose for some reason. Like she was secretly punishing her for something.

"Foxshadow," meowed Bluestar. Her tone didn't sound accusatory.

Despite her aching leg muscles, Foxshadow still forced herself to turn around to face her leader, wincing in pain. She dipped her head, a stab of pain ripping up the side of her neck. "Yes, Bluestar?"

"Mistleleaf told Darkpaw that you were expecting," meowed Bluestar quietly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

 _She feels hurt_ , Foxshadow realized. _She's angry._ "I wasn't ready to tell you, Bluestar. I had only confirmed it through Blackclaw yesterday. Did you know that pregnant cats smell different? Apparently, Blackclaw can tell the difference."

"You shouldn't have gone out there to investigate Snakerocks, especially since you knew you are expecting." Bluestar sounded furious. "ThunderClan can't lose anymore cats, especially not pregnant queens."

"ThunderClan has more problems to worry about than a lack of future apprentices," Foxshadow bit back. "If we can't ensure we have food for leaf-fall, our kits could starve before leaf-bare sits in. My first priority was making sure my Clan had territory so that our queens could be fed and so that all our kits would survive until newleaf. That is what matters most right now."

Bluestar stared at her and dipped her head to the massive queen. "I understand your concerns, but you should not be putting your life in danger. From now on, I expect you to be extra cautious and not take unnecessary risks."

The deputy hesitated, clawing her nest in frustration. Finally, she dipped her head. "Very well. But I won't step down until I know for sure the Clan is well fed."

The blue-gray queen lashed her tail. "You don't have to step down at all," Bluestar said firmly.

"I will step down," meowed Foxshadow, surprised. "You and I both know that Fireheart is the one you want to succeed you and lead ThunderClan."

Bluestar startled, staring at her with wide eyes. "You know...?" She trailed off.

"About you speaking to him more than you do me?" Foxshadow said hurriedly, angrily, not wanting her to know that she knew about the prophecy. Also, it felt good to shove her behavior right back into her face. "Yes, I do."

The ThunderClan leader looked shocked and flattened her ears. "I do not speak to him more than I do you."

"You spoke to him first instead of talking to me," meowed Foxshadow with a snort. "Even though you didn't know if I was capable of talking or not. It's as obvious as the smell of prey on the freshkill pile. Don't worry though, I'm not going to stay long enough to become leader after you." She rushed to finish before Bluestar could protest. "I don't want it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking after a bunch of mousebrained _apprentices_ with their claws in the clouds and their heads in the dirt. Leave that to Fireheart or Sandstorm or Mousefur or Brackenfur or Brambleclaw or just someone else you would want to be leader instead of me."

Bluestar looked like someone had slashed their five-claws across her face. Foxshadow turned away, her legs shaking and tail wrapping around her paws.

"I'm sorry," choked out Bluestar. "I'm sorry I made you fell unwanted."

Foxshadow closed her eyes but refused to turn around. After a long moment, she heard the distinct sound of Bluestar padding outside of the den and waited until her pawsteps had receded across the camp... and another set of pawsteps entered the den.

"Here's your thyme," Yellowfang rasped, "but I think I'll take it back. You obviously don't need it."

The massive she-cat turned her face away from Yellowfang. Her whole body was trembling. "I'm pregnant, Yellowfang," she confessed quietly. "My leader has chosen Fireheart over me, and even now StarClan is plotting to kill me. I'm only being spared because of my kits. StarClan knows my Clan needs them, but I doubt I will live long enough to see them grow. I'm scared I'll die giving birth to them, that I will be forced to watch from the Dark Forest as they grow up."

Yellowfang said nothing, and Foxshadow wondered if what she had said was true. The old cat took a step towards her, but stopped and said nothing. After another long pause, she heard leaves crinkle and the old she-cat padded away. Foxshadow doubted she would return. Poppyseeds are not good for queens. No herb was, really. She took it as quiet confirmation that it was true.

For the first time since becoming a cat, she wished she had tear ducts. Crying never felt good, but it was better than being unable to stop shaking.

It wasn't long before she drifting off to sleep, too exhausted from emotions and overexertion.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a heads up! I'm trying to reawaken by tumblr account (username: someoneimsure). There are links to my stories and occasional posts every week. If you want a faster response time or randomly come up with a question and this site won't let you post another review, try my tumblr account! I'll answer anon questions and non-anon questions so you don't have to get an account!**

 **I did find this youtube series with only one episode out so far where they made a few changes to the story which I really approve of. Basically, Redtail is Rusty's father, and everything else just makes so much more sense now.  
**

 **I think grove- and clearing- are great prefixes for cats with white on them but not pure white cats. Maybe gray-and-white or black-and-white. For the shadows. I might start compiling a list of prefixes that are rarely or never used in canon that people could use for their cats. Such as moor-, gorge-, tunnel-, horse-, sheep-, nest-, etc. I might post it on my tumblr account if anyone is interested. :)** **  
**

 **There is a new poll up if you guys want to check it out! It's about Foxshadow pairings. Alllllll of them.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **EDIT:**

 **There was a comment from someone who was concerned that pitbulls were being badly represented in this story (and she is right). I would like to confirm that the behavior represented in this chapter is not typical of pitbulls but actually of rabid dogs. The only reason why Foxshadow is more in a tizzy over fact it is part pitbull is because pitbulls have extremely powerful jaws and their instinct tells them not to let go of struggling prey. Basically, if a cat is bit by a pitbull, it won't let go so the cat is basically dead unless they are taken by twolegs for surgery right away. A well-trained pitbull is actually very safe to be around, and most pitbulls can have docile and friendly personalities (often because they are not afraid of humans as much as most other dogs). Despite this, I would not recommend approaching any stray breed due to the possibilities of it having rabies.**


	64. A Dangerous Path pt 3

**A/N: The reviews and responses are getting really long here, omg. I love you guys!  
**

 **S1L3NT: (1) Good! It probably helps that they are super long. (2) There were a combination of things happening that made him choose to blame Tigerclaw, but the main thing was that Mistleleaf told him Foxy was pregnant. (3) Glad I'm not the only one! I wish I had come up with that idea myself. Would have changed everything. Been real fun to write, too. (4) Awww, you flatter me.**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Well, you're obviously made it. (2) She still has some lives left so... it wouldn't really change anything. She'd come back. Just with one life short. (3) He couldn't comment on it because she told him SHUSH, lol. Gave him a heart attack when she disappeared, I bet. (4) Nothing went wrong. (5) It could have been rabid and started to chase a twoleg. It couldn't be helped. (6) Smudge is probably sitting on his fence going, "What's all that yowling about?" He might have gone to investigate, but I think his fear of the wild would have kept him in place. (7) Barkwall. Barkground. Thunderstick. I'm better at this than the Erins apparently, lol. (8) Yup. (9) Lol, oh, someone has probably told him at this point. (10) Darkpaw is the liar, yes. Bluestar would be encouraging Foxshadow to retire if Darkpaw told the truth, if not outright banish her. (11) Bluestar's thinking of her own kits. She wouldn't want Foxy to lose hers over something so stupid. (12) Awww. Here's tissues.**

 **Gamelover41592: Sincere! Also, she's a bit mood-swingy.**

 **TheAlphaofDarkness: Omg, thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Yes, she needs much comfort, the poor girl.**

 **BraveSeeker3: *Foxy hugs back***

 **Amy Is On A Sugar Rush: Yupp! You have discovered my secret formula. Though you're not first this time, lol. Please don't stay up til sunrise to do that. Bluestar is mad because Foxy is putting her kits in danger.**

 **Guest: No, she does not! :(**

 **Guest (Ice-Cream-Man): [Prepare for a wall of text *cough*] I have to say that I really love your long, grammatically correct, and thoughtful reviews - they are in short supply. It's like I'm thirsting for some better explanation to why my story is so good and then you pop in and give me like twenty clues that I've been desperately searching for. Thank you so much! (1) It actually makes me want to encourage you to get an account so we can brainstorm over PMs about what to do for the future stories or you can just proofread, or whatever you might be interested in doing. I also want to know what other fandoms you're interested in, and I can't really remember if it was you who mentioned RvB or someone else. I hope you like Wings of Fire because I do plan to write a basic idea for that next if not a whole story which will hopefully not be as long as this series. I want to get back to Transformers ASAP and I can't do that with my brain coming up with ideas for other series. (2) I was starting to realize that was actually what was happening, and I wasn't giving a good explanation for it, either. Sure, I could have explained that she was getting stressed over her job, but that didn't seem like anything other than a cop-out since it felt like it was less of Foxshadow's decision and more of her subconscious at work making her try to fill that role. I believe some other review mentioned how she might be doing another "theater" moment last chapter, and I'm afraid that's been because of my theater training slipping through. It's probably why Foxshadow started lying even when her character sheet explicitly states that is something she is not supposed to be doing. Oops. (3) I'm so glad I've put her back on track, at least that's what I'm guessing from your review. Perhaps I should make more allusions to her human upbringing with disguised statements like those, but coming up with good material like that on a dime is more difficult when I'm actually thinking "I should add witty comment here". (4) I hoped it would, especially because only a human would be able to navigate it. I was lucky to have enough material left over from the dogs to be able to set it up, and it seems it has worked famously. :] (5) Oh, I doubt they would, that is why I'm focusing more on Foxshadow than her kits in the future books. Foxshadow's son, Forestkit, is going to be the main focus of the next book and it's going to be all about wrapping up a lot of lose ends when it comes to her philosophy, the other Clans, and so on, and I think it's going to end up as more of a character study of Foxshadow in the form of a twenty chapter book focused on her son. That is what all the future books are going to do, and I know they aren't going to be as popular which is why I want them short, like Novellas. I do plan to simultaneously have Foxshadow's story continued in SkyClan's Return, but my main focus would be on Forestkit's story until its finished. (6) I like your analysis of that scene. Not only does it tell me that I fail at the whole "mood-swing" thing I've been trying to go for but that I might not be putting enough emotional moments in Foxshadow than I should be, something I'm going to have to fix in SkyClan's Return. I like how you've compared it to how people stress out in real life while doing normal things, and I think I'm going to keep that in mind and try to use my own experience for the future - if not for Foxshadow, than definitely for some of my other characters. Sparingly, of course. (7) As far as I know, there is no limit to the size of a review. You could, theoretically, write a book as a review for someone and it show up... probably in a month or so? I don't know for sure. I'd love to see someone test it.**

 **Shadowmist Of ShadowClan: Well, first you have to realize that Primroseleaf has always been skittish. Plus, battling can be really scary for someone who isn't trained to fight. That, plus Foxshadow is the cat that RiverClan believes killed a fox, and is considered one of the best fighters in the whole Clan. Foxshadow purposefully targeted Primrosepaw and her siblings, ignoring all other cats, just to scare them from the battle early. It's why Heavystep is upset with her.**

 **Frost: That's good! Thank you so much!**

 **Littlrr: The reason why people are so scared of pitbulls is that they were originally bred to be fighting dogs – specifically so that they would instinctively bite down with their powerful jaws and never let go. But you're right, I did paint them in a pretty bad light. I've put a disclaimer at the bottom so everyone knows that the dog was rabid and that the rabies is what is responsible for their behavior. ALSO, omg, never ever _ever_ approach a stray dog. You have no idea if they have rabies, pitbull or no. But I am glad to hear that they are friendlier than other dogs - it means that the dog breeders are being forced to breed in the nicer, docile personalities into the breed, which could eventually mean that these horrible instincts it's been bred to have will finally disappear from the dog gene pool. **

* * *

When Foxshadow awoke, she discovered two cats had joined her in the prisoner's den. She recognized Dustpelt's scent immediately, the cat pressing hard into her flank with his nose near her face, eyes closed. She turned her head slightly towards the other cat, a yellow tabby she-cat who blinked at her.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Goldenflower quietly, careful not to wake Dustpelt. "Yellowfang told me you were expecting kits and were scared about giving birth."

Despite still feeling exhausted, the deputy gave a exaggerated sniffing noise. "Aw, she _does_ care."

Goldenflower flicked her ears and glanced at Dustpelt. "Is he the father?" Her eyes glittered with anticipation.

"Yes."

The yellow queen lifted her head, her paw shooting forward to land on Foxshadow's, her jaws tightening as she kept her mouth shut. When she relaxed, she meowed quietly. "It's okay to be scared, Foxshadow. I was scared when I had my first litter."

Foxshadow didn't want to talk about it and suddenly wanted Goldenflower to go away. "It must be horrible. Three of your kits died in one day, and one is now disfigured."

"But Brightface's alive," said Goldenflower. "Brambleclaw is alive. Tawnypaw is alive."

Goldenflower's optimism didn't make Foxshadow feel better. "Do you hate him? Darkpaw, I mean?"

The older queen and senior warrior grew quiet. "I cannot bring myself to hate him. I helped to raise him. If it's anyone's fault for him turning out the way he did, it's mine."

Foxshadow shifted, eyes wide, and gently hooked a paw around Goldenflower's elbow in an attempt at a hug. "How is it your fault?"

"Tigerclaw was my mate," meowed Goldenflower. "And I helped raise Darkpaw. I must have said something about Tigerclaw, and he overheard it, and it stuck with him somehow."

With a wince, Foxshadow tightened her grip. Her legs protested, and her voice turned raspy. "It's not your fault. It's Tigerclaw's fault - and mine. He led my apprentice astray because I wasn't treating him fairly. No one else is to blame but me."

Goldenflower blinked. "What do you mean you weren't treating him fairly? You treated him as fairly as anyone else would an unreasonable apprentice."

"Yes, and because of that I refused to treat him like a normal apprentice." Foxshadow laid her head in her paws. "All any of them ever wanted was to be warriors early, just like me and Brackenfur."

"But you're different," said Goldenflower, confused. "You were already older than twelve moons when you showed up, with warrior training from your parents."

"Because of Tigerclaw," Foxshadow meowed, anger burning in her pelt. "I'm not surprised that any of our apprentices would admire him for that. They probably thought he'd make their dreams come true."

"But he wouldn't have. You were different."

Foxshadow huffed. "That hardly matters to apprentices who don't listen."

Goldenflower opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She sighed. "I don't know what would have happened if Bluestar had waited to make you a warrior."

"I think that the way we expect our apprentices to be trained needs to change. The RiverClan cats wait until their cats are twelve moons before giving them a warrior assessment because they take longer to grow. ThunderClan and RiverClan wait until they are ten moons old, but no one knows what ShadowClan is doing now. It used to be at eight moons, before Brokenstar was exiled. But everyone grows up at their own pace. We should be judging them on skill, maturity, and loyalty to the warrior code. We shouldn't be encouraging our cats to wait for their fellow apprentices to finish their own training before making them all warriors at once. Our Clan needs warriors faster than that."

The queen tilted her head. "Is that what you're going to do before leaf-bare?"

"No, it's what I'm going to tell the mentors of our newest apprentices, and I'll encourage them to focus on their training. Which means they won't be going on patrols unless they take their apprentices with them." Foxshadow lashed her tail as Goldenflower rested her head on her back. "I have a moon before I will be forced to retire to the nursery, so I will have to work fast. I also need to make sure no one hunts in Lion's Trap until I step down. That should give the rabbits time to settle in and start breeding so we have a good food source during leaf-bare. I'll spend the rest of my time teaching other cats to hunt snakes." Her gaze had drifted slowly up to look at the den's roof. "Maybe we can figure out how to fish in our stream. We don't want to do it by the river or we'll make RiverClan mad. I'll talk with the other senior warriors about it."

"Sounds like we are all going to be busy," meowed Goldenflower.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "and if our current apprentices want to become warriors, they'll better not complain about all the hunting I'm going to put them through."

"When are you going to start?"

"Tomorrow, at dawn." Remembering that she needed to give the Clan fair warning so they'd get enough sleep, she forced herself to her paws, glad that they only felt sore and didn't give out on her. "I'll make sure everyone is informed today."

Goldenflower quickly rose up beside her. "I'll come with you."

Foxshadow turned to Dustpelt and jabbed a paw into his shoulder. "Wake up, Dustpelt. There is going to be an announcement soon, and you're going to want to listen to it."

The dusky brown tabby groaned and shifted, but Foxshadow didn't wait to make sure he got up. She padded out the front entrance of the prisoner's den and made her way over to the leader's den, deciding it was only common courtesy to tell Bluestar what she was doing. Fortunately, Fireheart wasn't there. Bluestar sat off to the side, looking up to blink at her as she entered.

Foxshadow dipped her head to the blue-gray queen and began. "I think we need to make an announcement to the Clan. I want everyone awake at dawn tomorrow, working from dawn to dusk to strengthen our Clan, which means everyone needs to know they need to go to sleep at dusk today." She paused. "Also, I think it is time that Brindleface's kits were made apprentices. It should help boost morale."

Bluestar looked surprised. "So, you're going to remain my deputy."

"I have a moon before I need to step down. Besides, I already told Blackclaw he could expect someone else to show up as ThunderClan's deputy at the next Gathering. I don't think ThunderClan needs a liar as a deputy."

Her eyes flashed and her shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad you are still my deputy. I don't think I can survive having a deputy who won't argue with me, even if he would make a good leader."

Surprised at the warmth, Foxshadow blinked gratefully and gave a tiny purr. "I'll remember to argue with you more often, then." She turned to leave.

"Foxshadow, wait."

The massive queen looked back at her leader, confused.

Bluestar's tail tip twitched restlessly. "I never meant for you to feel unwanted," she meowed at last. "You are more valuable to my Clan and to me than anyone else, even Fireheart. I have no doubt the Clan would follow you to StarClan and back if you asked them to. You have inspired a lot of Clan cats to be loyal because of your dedication to ThunderClan. You are wise beyond your moons, one of the strongest warriors in the forest, and more cunning than all of ShadowClan. ThunderClan would greatly miss you if you decided to retire. That is why I want to make sure you know that you can still be the deputy even if you have kits. I don't want you to have to choose between your Clan and your kits."

Thoughts of Mistyfoot and Stonestar and Mosskit flashed through Foxshadow's mind. In a heartbeat, Foxshadow would have chosen to keep those kits alive and safe and warm over the whole of ThunderClan, no matter how much she owed them. It wasn't her fault if their leader decided to pick a bloodthirsty warrior to be deputy.

 _But then,_ she thought _, in order to save my kits from a bloodthirsty leader, I would also have to make sure there is no bloodthirsty leader._ In that moment, Foxshadow realized what choice she would have made. She would have both kept her kits and killed Thistleclaw to ensure he never became leader.

 _We are nothing alike, Bluestar,_ she thought. _And if you knew what I've done and what I would be willing to do, you would never have told me any of this. You would never have wanted me to be deputy in the first place. ThunderClan is lucky that I will never become their leader. I would break the warrior code and rewrite it however I saw fit just to protect myself, my kits, and my mate. No one deserves that._

With a jolt, she realized why she was mad at Graystripe. _I'm just like Graystripe, except my mate is in ThunderClan._

"I understand," meowed Foxshadow, feeling sick. "But I don't think I am ready to become leader. Of any Clan. I guess I'm still a loner at heart, and I don't think ThunderClan deserves a loner for a leader. They need a cat who will depend on them just as much as they depend on him. Not a leader who will try to do everything herself first, and then remember that everyone else can help her do it, too. That isn't fair to them. They deserve someone who knows that in his heart. They deserve Fireheart, whether they think that or not. He is the best choice ThunderClan has for leader."

The silence that hung in the air between the was thick and heavy with emotion. Bluestar looked like she had lost her kits all over again, and Foxshadow felt like she had just discovered a Dark Forest spirit was sleeping on her shoulders.

"I- I understand," whispered Bluestar, dipping her head. "You truly are wise."

 _If wisdom was just self-awareness,_ she thought wryly, _we could teach it in schools._ "Now, heh." She lashed her tail. "Since we're done giving each other speeches, we should probably give one to ThunderClan."

Bluestar huffed and rose to her paws. "Is there anything else you want other than everyone up at dawn tomorrow and the apprentices made warriors?"

Foxshadow lashed her tail. "I think Thornclaw, Brambleclaw, Fernspots, and Cinderheart should be made their mentors. Everyone else has already mentored one apprentice, and I don't want Fireheart to be without possible future deputies when he becomes leader. Unlike you and Thistleclaw."

Her leader blinked and agreed, "That would have made everything easier for Sunstar."

 _I wonder if Sunstar knew that_ , Foxshadow thought wryly. _Everyone seems to think he believed that no one other than Thistleclaw and Bluestar had apprentices._

As Bluestar padded out and Foxshadow followed, the deputy noticed that everyone in the Clan was present, even Patchpelt and Brindleface's kits. She wondered if she really did trust them all to protect her kits in the future or if she had relied on herself too much. In the next moon, she hoped her training would make her feel much better about her Clan and their odds.

Bluestar bounded up onto Highrock and skipped the introduction. "Cats of ThunderClan! There are four among who are ready become apprentices and learn what it means to be warriors of ThunderClan!"

Foxshadow remembered belatedly that she hadn't asked Thornclaw, Brambleclaw, Fernspots or Cinderheart if they were even ready to train apprentices but dismissed it. A warrior needed to be ready to train an apprentice at a moment's notice. Her gaze turned to the apprentices, and Brindleface rushing to flatten their fur and keep them from moving too much. She had no idea if they were be good apprentices to the warriors, or if they had the same natural abilities or personalities that would help them to work together. But, if she was honest, giving the warriors tough apprentices would prove themselves better than giving them apprentices they would naturally work together with. She made a mental note to tell Bluestar and Fireheart that later, hopefully to better prepare future warriors for the deputy position.

 _Isn't that exactly what the Warrior Code is trying to say?_

Bluestar called Harrierkit forward, a tabby tom as black as Darkstripe, named him Harrierpaw, and gave him to Thornclaw. Mid-ceremony, Harrierpaw scrutinized Thornclaw, seemed to center himself, and padded almost begrudgingly over to touch the tom's nose. Foxshadow could tell that Thornclaw felt hurt by the apprentice's reluctance.

Falconkit, a dark gray tabby she-cat, was named Falconpaw and was given to Cinderheart. Despite the fact that Cinderheart had a bad back leg, Falconkit eagerly touched her nose, undaunted at the possibility of being trained by a slow cripple. Cinderheart purred, pleased, and gave her brother a sympathetic glance.

"Graykit," meowed Bluestar, gesturing the dark gray tom forward. Foxshadow wondered if his warrior name would be Graystone for his solid coat. "you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Graypaw. Your mentor will be Brambleclaw. I hope-"

" _WHAT!?"_

Foxshadow's head snapped around, fury making her fur stand on end as she glared across the camp at Ashpaw. The spotted gray tom looked like he was shaking with rage.

"He's only been a warrior for a less than half a moon!"

A dark storm cloud seemed to hover over Foxshadow as she lowered her head and drew her lips back in a snarl. Her voice was loud over the shocked silence. "The member of the _kit patrol_ who ran when his fellow Clanmates were in danger _does not_ get a say in when a warrior gets an apprentice!"

Ashpaw turned his furious gaze on Foxshadow and realized with shock that the strongest warrior in ThunderClan was restraining herself from launching across the camp to bite his tail off. He looked around at his glaring Clanmates and fell silent, dropping his gaze to the ground. His fur still bristled in anger.

But Foxshadow wasn't done. "I'm sure you'll be happy to keep the nursery warm until the next queen is ready to retire!" After a heartbeat, she turned her gaze on Cloudpaw, Snowpaw, and Tawnypaw. "I hope you three don't share _Ashkit's_ opinion."

"No, we don't!" Snowpaw squeaked, ducking down with a wide-eyed glance at Ashpaw, fur raised in alarm.

Foxshadow saw from Cloudpaw's firm nod and Tawnypaw's nervous dip of her head that they agreed. The deputy looked up at Bluestar and nodded.

As if nothing had happened, Bluestar continued, her voice calm. "I hope Brambleclaw will pass down all he knows on to you." She looked at the chosen mentor. "Brambleclaw, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Fireheart, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and obedient to the warrior code. These are qualities that your father sadly lacked, and we are glad to see you do not follow in his pawsteps. You will be the mentor of Graypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to your apprentice."

Brambleclaw stepped forward to touch Graypaw's nose. The apprentice was shaking from Ashpaw's outburst, looking more anxious than any cat had a right to be. Foxshadow was reminded of Ravenfeather and wondered if the black tom would have made a better mentor. Brambleclaw murmured something to the apprentice, and Foxshadow hoped it was something about how Ashpaw's interruption wouldn't change the fact that he could be a great warrior with training. Graypaw nodded, his fur relaxing.

 _If anything, tiny gray Ravenpaw will show Ravenfeather that Brambleclaw is nothing like his father,_ she thought, relieved.

Bluestar named Slatekit, a gray she-cat, Slatepaw and gave her to Fernspots. This time, Ashpaw did not speak out. Slatepaw glanced at him, before touching noses with Fernspots, looking concerned. Fernspots murmured something to her, but it didn't seem to affect Slatepaw. She was probably worried about a young warrior being her mentor. It would be a challenge for Fernspots to gain her respect and prove that she could handle it despite her lack of experience.

The Clan erupted into chant. _"Graypaw! Slatepaw! Falconpaw! Harrierpaw!"_

After a few moments, Bluestar waved her tail. "Finally, I want everyone to wake up at dawn tomorrow. From now on, except for the night vigil, everyone will be doing something to help the Clan prepare for leaf-fall. It is only a moon and a half away, and our freshkill pile is low. Foxshadow will tell you what you all will be doing."

The Clan looked grim and serious. Foxshadow hoped they realized how important it was to make sure they were fat before leaf-bare hit, or at least understood that leaf-bare would be hard on all them. She looked up when Bluestar jumped down to stand beside her.

"Wake me up, too," she meowed, lowering her voice. "I want to spend my last life serving my Clan."

Foxshadow nodded. "Just don't get yourself killed." She paused, deciding to trust Bluestar with something she had planned to do. "If you don't mind, I think I should tell you now. At dawn, you'll be in charge of assessing Cloudpaw, Snowpaw, and Tawnypaw as they hunt in Sunningrocks. I would have Sandstorm do it but I want her to hunt with Fireheart near Owl Tree. I'll need you to come back at around sunhigh."

Bluestar flicked her tail-tip, amused, and dipped her head. "Yes, Foxshadow."

The massive she-cat purred. "I pray to StarClan that the dogs are gone tomorrow. Then, all we have to do is wait for the rabbits to return, and we'll have prey for most of leaf-bare."

"Our Clan has survived without them before."

"True," meowed Foxshadow, "but we will need the extra prey to become strong again."

Bluestar nodded. "ThunderClan is in good paws."

* * *

Foxshadow rose at the crack of dawn and noticed right away that there were a lot of warriors to wake up.

"Everyone on your paws!" she yowled, prodding the nearest cat – Dustpelt – into wakefulness. "WAKE UP!"

Ravenfeather sprang up and looked around in alarm, but realized quickly there was no threat and relaxed. Many other warriors groaned, except for the few early birds who quickly began rousing everyone else.

Foxshadow stepped over her mate and prodded Fireheart awake. "Everyone will receive new assignments today! Your goal is to make sure our territory is safe and there is a feast waiting in camp for everyone at dusk! Everyone leaving camp must eat before you leave for your assignments!"

She made sure everyone was awake before issuing out orders. "Fireheart, Sandstorm, you're on a hunting patrol near Owl Tree. Make sure you mark the border, too, and don't leave until Patchpelt is fed. Also, wake Bluestar. She is taking the older apprentices on an hunting patrol near Sunningrocks. Brackenfur, you take Fernspots, Thornclaw, and their apprentices and mark the RiverClan border. Mousefur, you'll lead Brambleclaw, Cinderheart and their apprentices on a border patrol near ShadowClan. When you're done, I want all the new apprentices to be out learning hunting crouches at the Sandy Hollow." Foxshadow was glad that Cloudpaw, Snowpaw, and Tawnypaw were sleeping with Patchpelt instead of with the other apprentices. She didn't want them putting ideas into the new apprentices' head.

"Are you sure that won't exhaust our apprentices?" asked Bramblecaw, whiskers twitching worriedly.

"If they need rest, give them some rest," said Foxshadow, "but I don't want to see them in camp until dusk, so I suggest you take them straight to the Sandy Hollow and rest there. Our goal is to make sure they are good hunters before the next Gathering. Fernspots, Brambleclaw, don't be afraid to ask Thornclaw and Cinderheart for advice on training if you need it."

Brambleclaw dipped his head, and Fernspots gave a meow to show she had heard. Foxshadow watched the warriors pad out of the den, leaving behind those she had yet to give assignments.

"Dustpelt, take Ravenfeather, Longtail, and Brightface to hunt in Treecutplace. Stay away from twoleg scent. When you come back, you'll be on day vigil." She looked at the last three cats. "Brindleface, Goldenflower, Willowpelt, and I will be on the day vigil until you return. Then, we'll go hunting in treecutplace."

As Dustpelt padded out with his hunting patrol, Foxshadow looked at Goldenflower, lowering her voice. "I have to speak with Ashpaw before I join you. You should speak with Brindleface. I think she needs to know you and Willowpelt still appreciate her."

"Oh!" Goldenflower's eyes widened and she nodded, turning to hurry after the old she-cat.

With the warriors den empty, Foxshadow clawed the ground as she thought of talking to Ashpaw, sighed, and padded out after them. She looked around, noting how empty it was now that everyone was either hiding in the forest and ravine around the camp or out on patrol.

No one was around who could hear what she would do to Ashpaw, except Patchpelt, but he was in the elder's den which was on the other side of the apprentice's den. She padded over to the freshkill pile to get a squirrel and approached the nursery wearily. She had no idea what to say to him. Sure, it wasn't fair that Ashpaw wasn't a warrior yet with an apprentice of his own, especially when it wasn't his fault that Cloudpaw and Darkpaw led them on patrol.

 _No, it is his fault. It's his fault for going along with it and not reporting it to a warrior._ Fury made her fur rise in anger. _And he has no right to tell his leader and deputy who to give apprentices to!_

She stormed into the nursery in a rage, startling Ashpaw, who cowed. She dropped the squirrel, refusing to throw it over to his feet for him to eat and simply glared at him. She didn't want to make the same mistake she made with Darkpaw.

"Why did you do it?"

Realizing that she wasn't going to attack him, Ashpaw rose and lifted his head. "It's not _fair_ ," he said, his anger slowly returning. "I'm just as old as Brambleclaw, but he's a warrior and he has an apprentice, while I'm being punished for what Cloudpaw did."

"You mean," meowed Foxshadow, "what your friend Darkpaw did."

Ashpaw blinked and suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, him."

The massive deputy lifted her head. "Did you think it was fair to interrupt Graypaw's apprentice ceremony?"

The spotted tabby's eyes widened. He had no response.

"What were you expecting to happen?" meowed Foxshadow. "For us to stop the ceremony, make you a warrior, and give you an apprentice, too?"

Ashpaw shifted uncomfortably. "No," he confessed, looking at his paws.

"The problem with seeking vengeance, Ashpaw," meowed Foxshadow carefully, "Is that it does more harm than good." She watched him. "When you interrupted an innocent cat's ceremony, you angered the Clan. A Clan that is angry at you will not make you a warrior."

"But Brambleclaw deserved it," meowed Ashpaw stubbornly.

Foxshadow grew quiet. Her voice turned frosty, and she fought the sudden desire to claw his face. "What matters to you more, Ashpaw? That Brambleclaw gets what _you think_ he deserves? Or you _being_ a warrior?"

Ashpaw fell silent.

"Because from the Clan's perspective, all you did yesterday was prove that you still don't deserve to be a warrior. You don't have the Clan's best interest at heart. You just want vengeance, and you don't care who else you hurt along the way. That is very destructive and selfish, Ashpaw, and neither are qualities we want in our warriors."

Ashpaw wilted, looking almost like he wanted to melt into the floor.

"So, why don't you spend the rest of the day thinking about what you really want, Ashpaw," said Foxshadow. "And we'll see which you care about more tomorrow." The deputy rose to her paws. "Eat this and stay in the nursery. I'll be watching you. Don't disappoint us."

The gray tom bowed his head. "Yes, Foxshadow."

She was relieved. Darkpaw would have ignored her and done whatever he wanted anyway. _There's a difference. Darkpaw used to be a warrior in a past life and thinks he still was one, but Ashpaw has never been a warrior and knows he is still an apprentice. He's young and impressionable, while Darkpaw was old and unchanging._

It felt good not to be a failure.

 _Now I just hope Ashpaw listens._

* * *

When Dustpelt's patrol returned, so did Bluestar and the older apprentices, and Brackenfur and Mousefur from the border patrols with news that the new apprentices were at the Sandy Hollow with their mentors. Foxshadow had the queens wait as she issued new orders.

"Dustpelt's patrol will sit day vigil," Foxshadow meowed. "Bluestar, Brackenfur and Mousefur – once you are all well rested, head out for another hunting patrol. Just don't eat anything until dusk. If any of you see Fireheart and Sandstorm, tell them to return at dusk."

The deputy hoped that romance would bloom and Sandstorm would be joining her in the nursery in a moon. The Clan needed more good news.

She gave the freshkill pile a glance and purred in satisfaction. "We're going to feast tonight, and have enough for tomorrow morning."

Finally, she led the queens up out of the ravine and towards treecutplace. Once they had disappeared into the forest and left Dustpelt's patrol behind them, the queens gathered around her.

"Are you really expecting kits?" asked Willowpelt, as if Foxshadow was Mousefur and not interested in toms. "This is good news!"

"I'm glad there will be more kits when I'm an elder," meowed Brindleface, looking relieved.

"An elder?" echoed Foxshadow. "You're retiring?"

The gray tabby shifted, looking embarrassed. "Well, I won't be able to have another litter, so I thought it would be best."

Foxshadow's head swam. One less warrior for the Clan. One less queen to have kits. She just couldn't put a good spin on this. She swallowed and forced a smile. "You- you've served the Clan well," she meowed firmly. "You deserve it. The Clan will appreciate you sharing your wisdom with us for moons to come. Especially me! I don't know the first thing about being a queen!"

Goldenflower purred. "Lucky for you, Brindleface wants to stay in the nursery. She'll keep an eye on your kits when you're out hunting or telling the deputy and leader how to do his or her job! Just like Speckletail!"

Foxshadow doubted that Speckletail told Bluestar off to her face, or that that was what Goldenflower meant.

"It's too bad we don't have anywhere to let the kits play without bothering the rest of the Clan," meowed Willowpelt, remembering the exit at the back of the nursery.

"Oh! No!" meowed Foxshadow. "I would never want them to play outside of the camp. Remember what happened to Snowkit, Spottedleaf, and Speckletail? Our kits are safer in the camp where Dustpelt can protect them."

The queens gave _mrrows_ of amusement.

"You'll make a great mother," Brindleface meowed, and the other two made noises of agreement.

Foxshadow _mrrowed_ along with the other queens, some of her anxiety melting away. Even if she did die, her kits would be loved and protected.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm so glad you guys have been enjoying these latest updates!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	65. A Dangerous Path pt 4

**A/N: I have to be honest, this chapter was pretty slow in coming out. I honestly hadn't figured out a subplot to work through to get us to her giving birth. I had to come up with something. Hope you guys like it! *prepares for the backlash*  
**

 **AmyTheCerealKiller: Are you like a world-record speed reader!? You posted one review after the other literally five minutes apart! HOW DO YOU DO IT?!**

 **S1L3NT: Good! I can't wait to write them popping up. Lol.**

 **Littlrr: Okay. Sorry if I'm mothering you. I tend to adopt a few of the personality traits of the characters I write.**

 **Gamelover41592: Me, too.**

 **BraveSeeker3: Hopefully! For both of them.**

 **AnonChan1: (A) I thought so, too! So did Goldenflower. I'm glad she was able to put aside her fangirling to do it. lol. (B) That is true. (C) Yes, it is. It tells you what is impossible for you to do and what isn't. (D) That is true. But the challenge will make them better warriors, if they can work their way through it. (E) Lol. (F) The lazy life is the good life, but warriors pride themselves on not being lazy. (G) Darkpaw had more going against him then for him - such as murdering cats. She wouldn't drive Ashpaw out, but she isn't in the best of moods because of it and Ashpaw is very lucky she swallowed some of that bite before speaking to him. (H) Yeah. (I) Yeah. (J) She retires at the end of this chapter.  
**

 **WolfWriter123 ( & Guest): (1) Moodswings, mostly, and also guilt. (2) Raggedstar and Cloudstar are the only ones who seem to vouch for her, and there has been vague mention of other cats disagree with what she is doing. (3) Yes, a little. Maybe, he'll be a... Ashspots. We'll see.  
**

 **Shadowmist of ShadowClan: Oh no! It's another one! lol. But yeah she totally will.**

 **Guest: A lot of people started shipping an 86 moon old cat with a 40 moon old cat two chapters ago, so I think age is pretty much off the table, lol. Trust me, Brightface (19 moons) X Cloudpaw (10 moons) is very much the least creepy thing we've been shipping, lol. The only thing preventing them from getting together is the fact that one is still an apprentice. I personally believe there is an unwritten rule that prevents apprentices from having kits or mates. They most definite will get together once he is a warriors.**

 **Catlover49: THEY ARE ALMOST HERE!**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: No he is not.**

 **Blazefeather: 4- Yes! At the next gathering! Which will be a while. 5-Idk how I did that. He's dead right now so...  
**

* * *

Foxshadow watched her Clan from the shade of the Highrock, waiting for the dawn patrols to return with prey and news. She constantly changed who was on what border patrol to make sure that the other Clans didn't smell the same cats marking their border and think something was wrong or that ThunderClan was weak. Bluestar was currently leading a patrol on the RiverClan border, with Thornclaw and Brightface with her.

Brackenfur padded out of the medicine cat den, looking upset. Foxshadow remembered that Cinderheart was in there, still recovering from having one of her hindlegs broken by a dog bite. The pale brown tabby padded over to her, and Foxshadow blinked at him in surprise and welcome.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Mistleleaf wants to talk with you," said Brackenfur, tail lashing. "She thinks you might know what to do about Cinderheart's leg."

Titling her head in confusion, Foxshadow rose to her paws. "Thanks, Brackenfur. Could you scout out the area around Snakerocks and Lion's Trap? I want to know if there are any dogs or rabbits around. Be careful and use the trees."

Brackenfur nodded, tail-tip twitching. "You'll tell me if Cinderheart is okay when I get back, right?"

"Of course," meowed Foxshadow. "I'll see you around dusk."

The pale brown tabby nodded and padded towards the bramble tunnel entrance. Foxshadow watched until he had vanished up the nearest tree and begun leaping from branch to branch towards Snakerocks. With a frown, Foxshadow turned and padded towards the fern tunnel entrance, sniffing cautiously around for Yellowfang, but the she-cat's scent was stale. She would have breathed a sigh of relief if she didn't remember how cool and old Mistleleaf had been. She was probably upset about what happened to Darkpaw. She approached Mistleleaf.

"What's the problem?" asked Foxshadow, looking down on a sleeping Cinderheart. Her leg was wrapped in a splint but Foxshadow could tell from the dried up scabs around her tendons that she would never be able to use the leg properly again.

"Cinderheart's been feeling pain in her leg." Mistleleaf touched her nose to the bandaged leg. "What do you see?"

"A leg that will never be used again," meowed Foxshadow, pointing at the cut tendon. "That tendon gives her control over her paw. Without a twoleg's surgery, that will never be fixed. It requires precision and tools we do not have."

The white she-cat looked unhappy with this news, and Foxshadow wasn't surprised.

"What do you suggest we do?" she asked quietly, sounding defeated.

"She can still run and walk without it," meowed Foxshadow confidently, "but the pain the leg will cause her will prevent her from doing everything she's still capable of. I would recommend getting rid of it. Cut it off up to here." She drew a line with a single claw across Cinderheart's leg, from her ankle to the front of her leg. "If that is even possible with everything we have."

The news made Mistleleaf really upset. "That's impossible! We don't have anything here that can do that! Besides, she'd bleed out!"

Foxshadow lashed her tail, uncomfortable. "That might not be true," she meowed. "The bone here is the source of most of the blood in her body," she meowed, putting a paw on her upper hind leg. "Most of her main arteries are going to be located above this leg. As long as we make sure to only cut off the smallest section here, she'll survive. Though, it would be more helpful to be able to sew her skin back together instead of wait for it to heal itself." She glanced over Cinderheart's leg. "We should be more worried about her dying of infection."

The white medicine cat shuddered. "I'll have to think about this and talk with the other medicine cats."

"Wait until you can talk with them at the Moonstone," meowed Foxshadow, with a glance around. "Goosefeather and Yellowfang aren't going to be much help with this. Neither of them have the right kind of abilities."

"Who does?" asked Mistleleaf.

"Mothflight might," meowed Foxshadow. "She's the first medicine cat ever, and from WindClan. I don't know about anyone else. You might have to ask around."

The white she-cat nodded, looking relieved before her face morphed in determination. "I'll leave right away."

"It's a black moon tonight, you won't be able to meet them properly. Wait until it's claw in the sky, at least."

The odd-eyed cat gave her a look. "I can see and hear them here. I don't need to visit the Moonstone."

"You should at least pretend you do," urged Foxshadow. "It isn't well-known that medicine cats have special powers, you know, and for good reason. It's hard for a warrior to wrap their mind around. They'll either try to use it to get the upper paw on the other Clans or find it too weird and ostracize the medicine cats. Just ask Goosefeather. He was ostracized most of all."

Mistleleaf tilted her head and jerked it to the left, her right ear twitching while her left remained still. "Okay. Goosefeather wants to know how you knew that."

"Because I dreamed it," meowed Foxshadow, "so I knew it had to be true. It's a part of my special power."

"Yes, your power..." she said. "I wish you were a medicine cat."

Foxshadow purred. "If my special power didn't grant me nine lives automatically..."

"So, that explains how your survived on WindClan territory," meowed Mistleleaf. "And the gorge. You must have seven lives left."

Foxshadow nodded, remembering what Cloudstar had said as she died in the river. "Mistleleaf, can I ask for a favor?"

"What?" Mistleleaf's left green eye focused on her, and the right one tried to follow her. One pupil diluted and the other didn't.

"I think I'm going to die when I give birth to my kits," meowed Foxshadow. "I don't want Yellowfang to know I have nine lives or she might say I'm supposed to be leader after Bluestar dies when it should really be Fireheart. I was hoping you could watch over me instead of her."

Mistleleaf looked worried. "How do you know you're going to die giving birth?"

The massive she-cat looked uncomfortable. "There are many reasons. You know how much Goosefeather doesn't like me, and even though Raggedstar does like me, I think the majority of StarClan sides with Goosefeather. Even though they may keep their promise and that I won't dream of StarClan or the Dark Forest until I am ready to die, that doesn't mean they'll let me continue living forever either. They will use this as an opportunity to chip away at my nine lives, forcing me to take one step closer to dying so that I won't mess with the Clan's way of life anymore."

The medicine cat looked stricken. "Foxshadow, they would never..."

"Try to kill me? Maybe not directly." Foxshadow curled her tail around her. "I spoke with Blackclaw of RiverClan. He says he can smell the difference between a pregnant she-cat and one who isn't, and he told me that I should be expecting. Probably in a moon and a half at most. He also told me that she-cats who have more than four kits are more likely to die in childbirth due to complications that causes for them." Foxshadow stared at the ceiling. "ThunderClan lost six apprentices. I'm large, my kits are likely to be strong, and I can survive giving birth to more than four. If I was a StarClan cat, that would be what I would do. Six new kits for one of my lives. It's a fair trade."

"Different scent...?" echoed Mistleleaf, glancing around the room at cats Foxshadow couldn't see. "You're not the only she-cat who will be giving birth at the start of leaf-fall."

The deputy looked at Mistleleaf. "How do you know?"

"There are more than one way to tell," meowed the white she-cat mysteriously, tail twitching. "Even if you're right and StarClan wanted to kill you when you gave birth, that doesn't change the fact that they _can't._ Goosefeather and Raggedstar both agree. Whatever happens, it's going to be a coincidence at worst."

"StarClan has more power than they will ever be willing to admit," hissed Foxshadow, tail lashing. "They once said that they could not interfere directly with the world of the living, but that is a lie. Raggedstar himself has proven that. They are fully capable of doing it, but they just don't want to. Even if they don't, it doesn't look like I'll have their blessings either. I am going to die giving birth, no matter how you look at it."

The medicine cat neither confirmed nor denied it, looking very uncomfortable. "I promise I will do my best not to let that happen."

"You can't fight fate," meowed Foxshadow, "but thank you. I feel much better knowing you will be there. I just wish we could talk more, without Yellowfang or StarClan getting upset about it."

Mistleleaf looked down at Cinderheart again, watching her chest rise and fall peacefully. "Can your powers _dream_ that Cinderheart can walk again? Like you brought Darkstripe back to life?"

"W-what?" Foxshadow stared at the white she-cat incredulously. "You think I brought him back to life?"

"You did. StarClan knows it. The Dark Forest knows it. They felt it the moment Darkkit was born." Mistleleaf hesitated. "That's why his coat was like his father's and not like his mother's." _Like it should be_ , went unspoken.

"I-I see." Foxshadow looked down. "Then, maybe I _can_ heal Cinderheart's leg. I just don't know how."

"You could dream it?" offered Mistleleaf, brow furrowed.

"No, I can't. I'll just die." Foxshadow looked thoughtful, touching the bandaged leg. "I daydreamed about Darkstripe coming back. Perhaps, I need to daydream Cinderheart's leg's miraculously healing so she can walk again."

"Okay. I'll leave it to you, then. You should go before Yellowfang returns."

"Talk with the other medicine cats anyway," meowed Foxshadow. "They might have advice on what to do."

"I will."

With a wave of her tail, Foxshadow padded out of the den and glanced around in case Yellowfang was watching, before quickly returning to her spot under the Highrock. Yellowfang would smell her near the medicine cat den, but she had no evidence to prove that Foxshadow had done anything but visit Cinderheart for Brackenfur's sake.

As her thoughts began to drift, Foxshadow lashed her tail and looked around camp, wondering if she would be able to smell who the other pregnant queen was. She hadn't remembered to tell anyone else to prepare to have kits, mostly because she didn't want anyone else's kits to possibly die during leaf-bare, because at the time they'd be old enough to eat prey.

She spotted Brindleface padded towards her from the direction of the warrior's den, with Willowpelt trailing after her. The oldest cat in ThunderClan looked tired, and she dipped her head respectfully to Foxshadow.

"I need to speak with Bluestar," she meowed.

"I'm going with her," Willowpelt added, looking almost challengingly at Foxshadow.

Sensing she already knew what this was going to be about, Foxshadow touched the old queen's nose and nodded. "Go ahead."

As the two queens padded away, Foxshadow sensed that Bluestar would probably announce the retirement to the whole Clan. Foxshadow wasn't sure why it deserved an announcement. The Clan was losing a warrior. She flicked her tail. Maybe the Clan just wanted an opportunity to thank Brindleface for her years of service and all the kits she had given to the Clan. That made sense, she supposed.

 _Besides, I would want my kits and my mate to wish me good-bye if I retired. Brindleface probably feels the same way._

It wasn't long before Bluestar came out with Willowpelt and Brindleface behind her. The blue-gray queen padded towards Foxshadow first

"Is everyone in camp?"

Foxshadow shook her head. "Everyone will be in camp at dusk."

Bluestar nodded. "Brindleface is retiring. I'll perform the ceremony for her then."

"Oh," said Foxshadow, having forgotten there even was a ceremony for anyone becoming an elder. "All right. Cinderheart might want to be here, too, but she is asleep right now because of the poppyseeds."

Brindleface looked at Bluestar. "I'll sit with her until dusk."

"if she sleeps through your ceremony," meowed Willowpelt, "I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"Thank you," meowed Brindleface with a purr.

 _It is almost poetic_ , Foxshadow mused, _ending her career in a dusk ceremony_. She looked at Bluestar.

"Mistleleaf has informed me that there is another cat in ThunderClan who is expecting," meowed Foxshadow. "Soon, our nursery will be full of beautiful new kits."

Bluestar purred. "That is good news." She paused and lowered her voice. "RiverClan is making every cat nervous, even the other Clans. They have the most cats in all the Clans. "

The deputy lashed her tail. "I hope the Clans aren't going to go to war over something like this. WindClan is already getting upset over seeing them hunt rabbits. I would hate for them to find another reason to attack RiverClan and kill their cats." She paused. "But I would not want ThunderClan to get involved, either."

"If RiverClan is in danger, so is WindClan, and if both Clans are weak, we will not be able to defend ourselves from outside threats like those dogs," meowed Bluestar sternly.

"Not like they helped us with the dogs when they were here," Foxshadow answered drily. "No, we can't risk another battle, especially since ShadowClan has gotten stronger because those DarkClan cats joined them. Besides, RiverClan is only going to be strong for so long. They don't have any queens expecting a litter, while we do, and they are too preoccupied with WindClan to worry about us."

"And what of WindClan?"

"The other Clans brought them back the last time they were driven out. I doubt RiverClan is going to hurt them too badly, and WindClan knows they can't risk an all out war."

Bluestar lashed her tail. "I wish I was that confident."

"If you were, then you wouldn't be leader." Foxshadow purred in amusement. "Worries keep cats alive."

Bluestar smiled. "Did you learn that from Ravenfeather?"

"More or less," Foxshadow meowed, subdued, remembering Ravenpaw in the books. "You know... Ravenfeather and I haven't talked much since a few seasons after we were made warriors, which is strange because he would always follow me around to help with his nerves. I wonder what's been up with him."

"You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

Bluestar's smile grew bigger. "Him and Cinderheart. They had few very... 'fluffy' conversation at the last couple of Gatherings."

"Oh. I guess I've been ignoring them." Foxshadow fluffed out her fur in embarrassment, making a mental note to put them on patrols together, like she did with Sandstorm and Fireheart. "Maybe Cinderheart is expecting kits?"

Her leader shrugged. "I think she is too young and too worried about her leg to think about kits. It's probably Sandstorm and Fireheart. I know you've noticed how they get along. You've been putting them on patrol together."

"Hmm... most likely." Foxshadow was glad Bluestar brought it up, because it confirmed her own suspicions about the two. "Maybe we'll be seeing a Spottedkit and Leafkit around here sometime."

"How can you be so sure those are the names they'll pick?"

The massive she-cat twitched her nose knowingly. "Fireheart had a crush on Spottedleaf when he was just an apprentice."

"Oh," meowed Bluestar, sounding displeased. "I'm... glad it never developed into anything more than that."

"He still thinks about her. It's hard to compete with a dead cat who is also a first love. Sandstorm could probably tell you all about it." Foxshadow paused. "I think Fireheart might be thinking that he'll be able to be with her in StarClan."

Bluestar looked even more displeased after hearing this. "Fireheart should be thinking about Sandstorm first. I'll speak to him about it."

Wincing, Foxshadow shifted on her paws. "Bluestar, are you sure you should be giving Fireheart relationship advice? Or demanding he change the way he thinks? He probably already knows it's not a good idea to do that and is trying to stop himself, and anything you might have to say will just make him frustrated with you. Trust him, Bluestar, it's not his fault that he's thinking about her. I'm sure Spottedleaf is encouraging him by seeing him in his dreams."

"How do you know that?" asked Bluestar.

"You've never slept in the same den as I have. He's always kicking and shifting around in his sleep." _Plus, I can smell her every once and a while, like a ghost stalker. Mousebrain medicine cat._ "There's nothing we can do about it, only tell Spottedleaf where she can stick it if we ever see her again."

Bluestar let out an amused purr. "I'll be sure to do that."

The casual response made Foxshadow stiffen. Foxshadow stepped towards Bluestar to touch her nose and murmured, "Don't die on me, okay? I don't want to be in charge of a bunch of apprentices."

"So you've said," meowed Bluestar. "I hope you'll be Fireheart's deputy one day."

"I doubt I'll ever leave the nursery," Foxshadow joked, purring. "I love kits too much! Maybe I'll be able to prevent them from growing up into mousebrained apprentices."

"ThunderClan is in good paws," Bluestar meowed, and Foxshadow was starting to get tired of that phrase. "I'm glad I accepted you into the Clan."

 _You had your doubts_ , Foxshadow thought, but there was no bite to her thoughts. Her whiskers twitched in amusement. "Oh, what did you used to call me? Foxdirt? Foxface?"

Bluestar shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it looks like the dawn patrol will be returning soon. I should probably go check and make sure our elder is fed."

Foxshadow gave a _mrrow_ of laughter. "See you later."

The leader waved her tail in farewell and padded off. Foxshadow spotted Brackenfur returning alongside the dawn patrol, hurrying over to her.

"What's new?" she asked, tensing. "Are the dogs still there?"

Brackenfur shook his head, tail lashing worriedly. "There are twolegs scoring the place."

Foxshadow relaxed in relief. "Good. Better if they searched for those dogs than us."

"How do you know for sure they'll go after the dogs?" Brackenfur paused and his eyes widened. "Does it have something to do with the things on some of the foxes' ears?"

 _The tags!_ Foxshadow had completely forgotten about them. She nodded. "Yes. Any animal with a tag is under the twoleg's protection. They won't want the dogs to harm them."

Brackenfur studied her curiously before looking away. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," meowed Foxshadow.

"How did you learn so much about twolegs?" He shifted. "You were a loner when we met you and only sixteen moons, and you spent most of your life being trained by your parents."

"Yes..." Foxshadow trailed off. She felt like a rift had suddenly opened up between them, one that had always been there from the beginning but she had ignored up until that moment. "I didn't spend most of my life being trained by my parents." _I didn't at all_. "I spent most of it traveling the twolegplace. You can learn a lot from the kittypets and their twolegs if you just wait around and listen."

Brackenfur twitched his tail in uncertainty. He still refused to look at her. Foxsahdow didn't understand why. "Can you... understand them?"

Begrudgingly, Foxshadow said, "Yes." She didn't like the fact that her apprentice refused to look at her. "Brackenfur, what's wrong?"

"I just wanted to hear it from you."

 _Hear what? That I can't tell you that I'm a twoleg pretending to be a cat in her dreams?_ Foxshadow stepped towards her apprentice and pressed her nose into his ear. "Why?"

Brackenfur looked up and blinked. "I wanted to know, if you... were you a kittypet?"

"No!" Foxshadow fluffed out her fur, amused. "No way. You wouldn't catch me dead eating that kittypet slop." She studied his face, hoping that was all that was bothering him. But now, Foxshadow couldn't help but feel guilty for never telling her apprentice or Fireheart the truth about her past. She hid her guilt well, keeping her eyes warm and fur flat. She had to distract Brackenfur. "Did I tell you yet that I'm expecting?"

"You are?" Brackenfur's eyes widened. Foxshadow felt a flash of warmth for her former apprentice. "Have you told Dustpelt?"

"No," meowed Foxshadow. "I want to wait until I'm actually ready to retire before I tell him. You know how determined he can be to protect me, sometimes, especially from those... 'evil' RiverClan cats."

Brackenfur gave a _mrrow_ of amusement, but it was subdued. "You know he only hates them because he thought they killed Redtail."

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow, frowning. "He still believes they are evil, though I disagree. Shadepelt and Blackclaw have always been good conversationalists at Gatherings."

Her former apprentice flicked his tail thoughtfully. "How's Cinderheart?"

"You're sister is going to be fine," meowed Foxshadow. "Mistleleaf just wanted to know if I knew how to fix broken legs. I told her I'd seen kittypets with three legs who could run and hunt and fight like warriors just fine, but that I didn't think we were capable of doing that for Cinderheart. She would need a twoleg to do it... and she might come back unable to bare kits. Cutters disapprove of outdoor cats that can bare kits."

Brackenfur shuddered and curled his tail around his paws. "That sounds horrible."

Foxshadow blinked. "If you believed, with every fiber of your being, that it was horrible for cats to live out in the wild where they could be exposed to illnesses and sicknesses without you to help them, wouldn't you prefer they live in that wilderness without the ability to have kits, so their kits could not pick up those illnesses and sicknesses? That is the foolish thinking of twolegs." _In this reality_ , she thought. She was pretty sure there were more reasons to keep cats in her world from breeding – like overpopulation in twolegplaces due to lack of predators, cat scratch fever, and then some. But these twolegs did not have to worry about overpopulation because the cats could live just fine in the wild. Just like the Norwegian Forest Cat in the real world.

 _Maybe cats in the real world can live just fine in the wild, too_ , she thought with a frown, _after a few generations of being in the wild and no new domestic gene-pools being added in._

Lost in thought, she missed what Brackenfur said next. He was already rising to his paws, and Foxshadow guessed he was going to check on his sister.

"I'll see you around," meowed Foxshadow, wondering if she should send him on a patrol later. She decided against it since Brackenfur seemed so concerned about his sister. Perhaps he was worried she would be falling under the same sickness which had bothered Thornclaw when he first lost his tail. She felt a stab of pity for her former apprentice. Both of his siblings were scared for life. Three, if Brightface hadn't somehow ended up Swiftwind's sister instead.

She had never questioned that before but now she couldn't help but think about how odd it was. Did this mean that someone with her powers had showed up in the distant past and changed only enough to create that difference? Or perhaps her reality bending powers had used her knowledge of cat genetics to fix what was wrong with the Warrior universe before she showed up? Since no strange spirits had come down to give her advice, she guessed it was probably the later.

 _So, I should be able to fix Cinderheart's leg._

But was that the right thing to do?

The reason the Erins reincarnated Cinderpelt to begin with was because she was robbed of her life as a warrior and forced to be a medicine cat. Well, that was the official reason, though Foxshadow doubted that was the real reason. Now, Cinderheart had started out a warrior, but had suffered the same injury as her canon counterpart.

Was it really fair to just do what the Erins did? What about Thornclaw and Brightface? Don't they deserve the same thing? And what about Runningwind and Swiftwind? It would be unfair to all of them for her to use her powers to bring them back. Just like she had Darkstripe.

 _None of them were doomed to the Dark Forest like Darkstripe,_ she argued, _and just needed a second chance_.

But what about the others? Don't they deserve a second chance?

 _Thistleclaw might, but Mapleshade doesn't._

Foxshadow hissed and looked around, an uncomfortable stench filling her nostrils. Her eyes narrowed, but she saw no one. A dark, wispy fog seemed to uncurl from the shadows around her. Foxshadow knew she was about to see a visitor, and knew better than to stay in camp where the others could see her talking to herself. Instead, she slipped out the bramble tunnel and headed towards treecutplace. The shadows seemed to gather around her faster, and she picked up her pace until she haring through the forest. The barkwall seemed to come up on her fast, and she ducked around the corner, searching for the entrance. The shadows were at the edge of her vision, keeping even pace with her. She slipped under the fence and scrambled up the nearest pine tree. She took up her perch and remained perfectly still as the shadows engulfed her.

A black-eyed tortoiseshell and white she-cat with yellow pupils greeted her. Foxshadow could tell she was spirit because she could see the cat's tail straight through her body.

" _We finally meet_ ," purred Mapleshade.

"Kit-killer," Foxshadow hissed, "waiting for me to think your name before you decide to visit me."

" _You summoned me,_ " Mapleshade pointed out, amused.

"My mistake," meowed Foxshadow coldly. "What do you want, murderer?"

" _You know better than anyone that it wasn't my fault that my kits died,_ " meowed Mapleshade, voice between a wail and a whine. " _It was Frecklewish's. She's in StarClan right now, probably smug that she helped kill the kits of her brother's so-called killer. It was all... just an unfortunate accident."_

Foxshadow didn't trust the she-cat as far as she could throw the spirit. "What do you want? For me to reincarnate you, like I did Darkpaw?"

" _You were supposed to kill him!_ " snarled Mapleshade before regaining control of herself. " _That would be so nice of you."_

"Your jealousy," meowed Foxshadow, "dooms you. No matter what life you live, vengeance will consume you. Darkstripe had the potential for change. You are as unchanging as Highstones."

" _You want proof?_ " asked Mapleshade, clawing the blackness underfoot. " _I can give you proof!_ "

"No. There is no proof you can give." Foxshadow gave a dismissive flick of her tail.

Mapleshade bristled in fury. _"You'll regret this!"_ Her lips curled and she licked her lips, as if she was thinking of a delicious meal. " _Your kits-"_

Suddenly, Mapleshade was shoved into Foxshadow's nose. The glowing-eyed she-cat hadn't moved; Mapleshade had been dragged forward into her by the ground itself. Foxshadow's eyes flickered with the full light of the sun, burning into Mapleshade's shocked face. Mapleshade was forced to squint her eyes against the harsh glare.

"Interesting," said Foxshadow, her voice ice-cold with deadly promise. "I didn't know I could do that until now. Funny how I've been told I can bend the world to my will, but only now I figure out I could also do it to these visions." She slowly pulled her head back, her voice deceptively friendly. "What were you going to say about my kits?"

Mapleshade spluttered and choked, swallowing.

"Or were you just hoping I'd pounce on you and fall from my tree, like a forgetful apprentice?" Foxshadow caught the tiny widening of her eyes. "I thought so."

Foxshadow slammed her claws down on Mapleshade's head, burying her face in invisible dark bark. "I'll grant you your wish, Mapleshade. You'll live once more – and you'll die again as well. You'll live and die forever, unable to move on to the next life, unable to hurt anyone else, unable to do anything as greencough and whitecough and blackcough and yellowcough take your miserable newborn life away before you even reach a quarter moon. You'll live and die in every Clan, forever and ever, until you forget who you were and until you forget that there is a world afterwards. Then, you will pass on, back to the Dark Forest you have always embraced in your ugly black heart, never to see the gifts of StarClan – _never to see your kits again_. That sounds like a suitable punishment for a kit-killer like you, don't you think?"

" _No!"_ Mapleshade struggled, but it was as if a mountain was on her head. She slashed out her claws at Foxshadow, but the furious future mother didn't even flinch. " _Please! Have mercy!"_

"Mercy? You weren't very merciful when you killed Frecklewish, were you? Or Appledusk, or Ravenwing? Or when you threatened my kits to try and kill me? Why should I give you mercy?"

" _I was a mother once, too!"_ Mapleshade wailed.

The massive she-cat hesitated. "You're right. Once. But that was a long time ago. I wonder if you really cared about your kits. Perhaps a better punishment would be for you to watch them die over and over again."

Mapleshade froze, horrified.

"To watch as you kill Ravenwing, Frecklewish, and Appledusk, knowing it won't bring them back to you. To watch them as they stare down at you from StarClan, a monster chasing shadows."

" _They deserved it!"_ Mapleshade growled, whimpering as Foxshadow's claws dug into her skull.

"Frecklewish wasn't the one who banished you, Mapleshade. Of all the ones you killed, she deserved it least of all. It was Oakstar who doomed your kits, but I suppose your loyalty to your Clan prevented you from killing him. More's the pity."

Mapleshade fell silent, confused. She felt Foxshadow's weight shift above her, but she still couldn't scramble out of her hold.

"I think, instead, we should just have a trial. See who is really to blame for everything that has happened. See what punishments you all deserve. Oakstar, Ravenwing, Appledusk, Frecklewish – I summon you all. Come out of the shadows and face what you have done. Confess! You have all broken the warrior code. Come, kits of Mapleshade – come see your mother, who rejected you for the sake of revenge."

" _No!"_ Mapleshade shrieked. " _Not them!"_

"Come out, all of you." Foxshadow voice was stoney. "It is time for you to received what StarClan denied you because they have forgiven Oakstar's mistake."

They appeared first as glittering StarClan spirits, but Foxshadow's glare and the omnipresent shadow stripped them of that light quickly. Oakstar, Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and finally Appledusk. Behind them, bathed in starlight so bright it pushed back some of the darkness, three fully grown cats padded forward out of the darkness. Foxshadow recognized them right away from their pelts as the children of Mapleshade. The three StarClan cats and former kits dipped their heads to Foxshadow.

" _Hello, mother_ ," murmured one quietly.

Mapleshade was frozen in horror. She didn't even register when Foxshadow stepped off her.

"It is time for you all to confess. We will start with you three." Foxshadow faced Mapleshade's three kits. "Did you coerce Mapleshade to kill those three cats?"

" _No_ ," they meowed in unison. " _We didn't_."

Mapleshade gathered herself off the ground. " _Of course you did._ " She stepped toward them but they stepped away from her touch. She stopped, stung.

"Are you accusing your kits of breaking the warrior code?" challenged Foxshadow, grabbing Mapleshade's attention. " _While_ they were in StarClan? Is such a thing even possible?"

Oakstar meowed first. _"No, it is not._ " His spirit looked like a ghastly faded shade, the starlight removed from his pelt. He looked sick and tired, as if he had just woken up after weeks of sickness and was barely standing on his paws. The other spirits-turned-shades didn't look much better.

"No, it's not," meowed Foxshadow sternly. "You three may go home."

The three StarClan cats rose as their light shot heavenward. Foxshadow dragged the others forward without moving her body.

"Mapleshade," meowed Foxshadow, "no one gave you the right to murder these cats. Your belief that they deserved it made you see visions of your kits telling you to kill these cats. Regardless of your circumstances, you knew what you were doing was murder. You broke the warrior code."

" _But Frecklewish didn't try to save them_ ," Mapleshade hissed. " _She was watching us cross the river!_ "

Foxshadow looked at Frecklewish. "Confess. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Frecklewish glanced at Mapleshade. " _I was there... I was watching. The water was high. When they were swept away, I couldn't see them anymore. I had no idea what to do. They were just gone."_

 _"You stood back and let them die!"_ Mapleshade hissed.

"Is it Frecklewish's fault that you decided to cross the river at it's highest that it made impossible for any kit to cross? Was it Frecklewish's fault that the water was too murky for anyone to see your kits beneath the surface?" Her voice turned hollow. "Is it Frecklewish's fault that your kits were no longer Clan cats? No, she followed the warrior code. The blame for their deaths lies solely on you." She glared at Frecklewish, who wilted in guilt. "Even if it cost _kits_ their lives. You may go home, Frecklewish. I hope to never see your hopeless face again."

The spotted she-cat brightened up in full StarClan glory and zipped upward, joining the three former kits.

" _It wasn't my fault!"_ Mapleshade spat. _"I was banished from the Clan! Where could I go?"_

Foxshadow turned her gaze on Oakstar. "Who banished Mapleshade from ThunderClan? Who blamed the kits for the sins of the parents? Who neglected the warrior code and put those kits in danger in the first place?"

" _'No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan',_ " answered Oakstar, dipping his head in shame. " _I did._ "

Foxshadow hissed. "It is a complicated thing. If you weren't a leader, you'd be in the Dark Forest already. But because you were, you obeyed the warrior code, because the warrior code says, 'The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code'. That is why you were in StarClan, instead of punished like you deserved." Foxshadow lashed her tail. "Besides, you did only what your medicine cat, your representative from StarClan, had told you. That is also why you were not punished. Isn't that right, Ravenwing?"

" _The omen warned us that her kits would destroy the Clan,"_ Ravenwing meowed.

"It was not StarClan who told you to have the kits banished," meowed Foxshadow. "You knew that Birchface was killed by Appledusk, that everyone was hoping those kits belonged to Birchface. You knew that telling Oakstar would have killed the kits. You broke the warrior code when you put those kits in danger."

" _That isn't true,"_ Ravenwing meowed, rising. " _It was Oakstar's decision_."

"And who told Oakstar that keeping the kits would destroy the Clan, that those kits were a RiverClan warrior's kits?" Foxshadow raised her head. "You cannot blame StarClan for this, Ravenwing. You chose to make Mapleshade's kits ThunderClan's enemy. You could have just told Oakstar to send them to RiverClan, but instead you are now also to blame for their deaths."

Mapleshade relaxed, looking smug and justified. " _You deserved to die, Ravenwing_."

Ravenwing looked horrified. " _I only did what StarClan told me to do!"_

"StarClan never told you to kill the kits," meowed Foxshadow. "Remember this lesson, Ravenwing, and make sure you never do it again." Foxshadow waved her tail. "ThunderClan will see you in the next life."

" _What?_ " Ravenwing's eyes had gone wide in shock and surprise. " _What are you-?"_

The black cat vanished before their eyes. Foxshadow turned to the last cat in the line, the only shade she had yet to speak to. "Appledusk, you are thrice a traitor; once to your Clan, second to your first mate, and third to your kits. Darkstar forgave you for your treachery, but I have not. In this case, Mapleshade's vengeance towards you is just deserved. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The brown warrior glanced at the spot where Ravenwing had vanished " _I am a loyal warrior of RiverClan. I chose my Clan over my mate and kits to prove that loyalty. I know it was not right of me to pick a mate outside of the Clan, but I loved her. I still love her. I was horrified when our kits died, but I knew I had to choose my Clan over them. I am sorry that my kits had to suffer for my mistake, but I cannot regret my choice._ "

" _You chose Reedshine over me,"_ Mapleshade hissed. " _I didn't deserve that!"_

"You made a good choice," meowed Foxshadow, earning a hiss from the calico. "Many a warrior has proven their loyalty to their Clan by making the same choice. I cannot condemn you without also condemning them. Besides, it is obvious that you have overcome your earlier weakness and have earned your rest in StarClan. However, that does not mean that you did not deserve Mapleshade killing you. Her vengeance towards you is over this day and every day afterwards. That is my promise to you. Your kits and kin will no longer die by Mapleshade's hand. Go home. You are done here."

" _What!?_ " Mapleshade raged.

All at once, the starlight returned to his pelt. Relieved, the StarClan cat dipped his head to Foxshadow. " _They were wrong about you. You truly are wise beyond all your years._ " He took one last look at where Ravenwing had disappeared, but his light zipped skyward before anyone could see his expression.

" _He rejected me!"_ Mapleshade seethed.

"You deserved it," Foxshadow meowed coldly. "You killed his kits. Him refusing to reject you would not have changed that fact. Then you went on killing them even after he was dead, which he did not deserve."

Mapleshade hissed and spit and made to lunge, but held herself back, bristling. She remembered how Foxshadow weighed like a mountain on her head and how she could bend the very fabric of reality around them.

Foxshadow blinked her glowing eyes, turning her gaze on Oakstar. "You have already confessed to your mistake," meowed Foxshadow. "But you have not been punished for it. If I were to not punish you for this, I would also have to not punish Brokenstar for what he did. That part of the warrior code has been abused. You and I both know this. How can I guarantee that someone like you will not abuse it in the future?"

" _You're_ bargaining _with him?_ " hissed Mapleshade.

Foxshadow flicked her tail dismissively at Mapleshade. "Tell me, Oakstar. What do you think I should do?"

The solid dark brown tom paused, glancing at where Ravenwing had disappeared. " _I have left too much undone. I cannot fix it."_ He looked with dispair at Foxshadow.

" _I_ cannot fix it, either," meowed Foxshadow. "It will take more than just you or me to fix it. It will take a leader. A good leader. Someone all the Clans will listen to. Remember what you have done, Oakstar, remember what Brokenstar has done, and remind the Clans of this. That is what I am asking. Can you do it?"

A flicker of hope passed through the old shade's eyes. " _Yes_ ," he meowed. " _I will do this._ "

"At the next opportunity," meowed Foxshadow, "As one of my sons or as one of Brambleclaw's. It would be fitting that you would be your own great-great-grandson. I wish you luck. ThunderClan will see you in the next life."

Oakstar relaxed in relief, but then stiffened and really looked at the spot Ravenwing had disappeared. " _But doesn't that mean-?"_ Then, he, too, vanished.

Mapleshade clawed the darkness in rage. " _What about me!? They deserved to suffer!_ "

"You threatened my kits," hissed Foxshadow coldly. "You murdered three cats, two of whom did not deserve it. You are the only one left who deserves to suffer. Get lost, Mapleshade. Travel the Dark Forest, blind and lost, forever and ever, until your shade fades like all the rest."

" _No!_ " screamed the calico, lunging for Foxshadow. She was yanked away from Foxshadow so that she landed harmless in front of the she-cat. " _I'll hunt you down! I'll find you!_ "

"Blind spirit of vengeance," meowed Foxshadow. "You will never find anyone else ever again."

Then, Mapleshade vanished. The darkness disappeared in a snap. Foxshadow dug her claws into the bark and blinked, looking around. Dusk had fallen over the forest. Remembering Brindleface's elder ceremony, she scrambled down the trunk and bolted for home, leaping over the bramble wall.

Bluestar was already at the base of the rock, waiting for everyone to gather. Foxshadow quickly approached and dipped her head. "Sorry, I'm late. I had to investigate something in treecutplace."

The blue-gray queen nodded, before leaping up to the top of the rock.

"Cats of ThunderClan, it is time for one of our warriors to retire to the elder's den!" Bluestar looked down upon the Clan and beckoned the oldest she-cat in ThunderClan forward. "Brindleface, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?"

The pale gray she-cat dipped her head. "It is."

"Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest."

The Clan gathered around Brindleface to wish her their own good-byes and thank-yous. Foxshadow watched them all, feeling relieved that Mapleshade's vengeance would not destroy the Clan in the seasons to come. When there was room for her, Foxshadow padded towards the she-cat to touch noses with her. "I'm sure Patchpelt will love to have your company."

"I'm sure he would," meowed Brindleface. "Though I'm sure you would, too."

Foxshadow felt her fur fluff up. "Eventually," she admitted. "I'll feel better knowing you'll be watching over my kits."

Brindleface blinked, concerned. "What do you mean?"

But Brindleface was distracted by Fernspots pressing into her side. Foxshadow pulled away and turned to disappear into the warrior's den. She did not want to explain herself to Brindleface, especially when she was still recovering from the impromptu trial.

* * *

 **A/N: I haven't been on a schedule in a while. I should probably put myself back on it. I'll post another one on friday and see how life goes from there.  
**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	66. A Dangerous Path pt 5

**A/N: I couldn't get this done yesterday. I could barely get it done today. Ughhh. Hope you enjoy this update!  
**

 **www . quotev . c-o-m / story / 10895453/ Fanart-for-Fanfics/ 4 (remove spaces and remove dashes from c-o-m for another fanart by BraveSeeker3! PM me if the link doesn't work for you!)**

 **BraveSeeker3: We shall see, we shall see.**

 **Littlr: Thank you! I hope I can keep you attention until this story is over!**

 **Gamelover41592: Not jury. Just the judge. I actually talk about it this chapter.**

 **AnonChan1: Goldenflower is a Dustshadow Fangirl. She's a shipper. (1) Yup, they're sibs. (2) What's a risk? *confused* (3) Hm. More like a combination of Yellowfang and Spottedleaf. And extremely restless. (4) This is true. But what is better – having only one person in charge, where they can go easily corrupt, or having one group in charge who would have to first convince each other to go corrupt before they can go corrupt? (5) Hm. (6) She made it to elder status! Unlike canon... (7) Oh, it's ironically hilarious. The closer they get, the farther status wise they get. At least now Bluestar knows about Spottedleaf. (8) Nope, but Brackenfur thought so. (9) Uh oh. (10) :)**

 **Guest (S1L3NT?): (1) A fate well deserved for a murder who can't be trusted on her own in the Dark Forest. (2) Foxshadow. (3) Neither did I, but Foxshadow felt he deserved a second chance to amend his mistake. Like Oakstar. (4) Welp, my update was late so...**

 **Nethercat24; She was. StarClan are going to have a chat with her about that.**

 **AmyTheCerealKiller: Sorry, this time it's my fault. I couldn't get it out on time. :(**

 **Shadowmist of ShadowClan: She was not judging them based on their emotions or circumstances, only on whether or not they followed the warrior code. The warrior code states that "An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense." Mapleshade broke this when she killed for revenge, and then proved she was unwilling to change her stance on it when she continued killing even after she was dead. Foxshadow also took into account a willingness to change, which Mapleshade has never shown in canon; she embraced the Dark Forest knowing that it meant she could now have her revenge on Appledusk and StarClan for what it did to her _forever_. ALSO, just because you had a really bad day, doesn't give you the right to go on a killing spree. The only people who do that are insane, and cats ain't got no cure for that. ((If Foxshadow had her way, Ashfur would be in The Dark Forest, too, for attempted murder of three innocent kits in the name of revenge)). Also, Mapleshade has been manipulating cats like Crookedstar since they were kits. She's too dangerous to let wander Dark Forest without some kind of blindfold on.**

 **Spottedsky1234: You're welcome and thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of it!**

 **Catlover49: YUP!**

 **Littlesmack: (1) Good, good. Do you think I write too many awesome scenes? All my characters, and sometimes other characters, end up being too awesome. I need to keep an eye on that, even though it's fun to write and read. (2) I hated what happened to her in canon. I guess because I wasn't able to see the nuance of her character. It's annoying. (3) That was my intention. (4) Yes, I did. I still intend to do that. To be honest, the power's not going to be Foxshadow's much longer. As you've already seen from the pieces I've given you before. (5) There's also the fact that Foxshadow is assuming the two stories are the same. StarClan's going to point out some other flaws about Foxshadow. (6) As I mentioned before, it has been removed.**

 **Stormbreeze of BlazeClan: I'm glad you think so. I hope you enjoy this upcoming chapter, too.**

 **WolfWriter123: (1) That is exactly what's happening! (2) More like a declaration made when she was really furious, but it does work good as a scare tactic, too. I don't think Foxshadow's that kind of gal, though. She's just spitballing. (3) That's Foxshadow's concern as well! And StarClan's. It's too OP! Something has to be done! (4) There have been cases where she-cats have had eight cats (two full litters born at the same time, from two separate matings), and their mother was Maine Coon size. Maine Coons, however, have been known to only have four kittens, which is the average of most cats, while some others can give birth to up to ten kittens naturally, due to similar circumstances to the mother mentioned above.**

 **Blazefeather: Oo, I wonder if you'll like the next three chapters. They're going to be in someone else's perspective. Hm, hm.**

* * *

When Foxshadow awoke the next morning, it was to discover that the entire camp was covered in an unearthly fog. She knew right away that StarClan had come to see her about the trial she had conducted yesterday and she didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. Before anyone could pad up to her, she quickly left the camp through the bramble tunnel, not wanting to leap over the bramble wall without knowing where exactly she would end up landing. She scaled the ravine carefully and padded away towards Treecutplace, where Mapleshade had met with her the day before.

Her thoughts swirled. Did StarClan have something to say about her decision? Did Appledusk tell them about it? Was her powers over dreams affecting the real world now, too? Anxiety prickled her pelt as she reached the bottom of the tree.

"I'm here," she murmured quietly, looking around. "If you want to talk, come and talk."

They emerged from the fog slowly, Raggedstar and Cloudstar in the lead, with Lionheart and Redtail close behind them. A few former warriors appeared behind them, among them were Appledusk, Swiftwind and Runningwind. Foxshadow's gaze swept the gathered cats in surprise, the prickle in her pelt spreading to her paws.

"What's going on?" she asked. Where they here to kill her, take away her lives, or what? She looked at Raggedstar for an explanation, since the tom had always supported her in the past. "Why are you all here?"

" _We wanted to discuss,_ " began Raggedstar, " _what happened yesterday. It should never have happened. We were negligent._ "

" _It cannot be helped,_ " answered Cloudstar. " _We are the dream to her, and if she thinks of one of us she cannot help but summon us._ "

" _We were able to avoid this before,_ " argued Raggedstar, looking at Foxshadow _. "I don't know how she could have slipped passed. I'm sorry, Foxshadow. I failed you._ "

Cloudstar looked like he disagreed, but thought better of it. " _Appledusk and Frecklewish told us what happened. We are glad you did not send Ravenwing to the Dark Forest. He is a cat with good intentions, despite his mistake."_

"A mistake he didn't seem to think was _his_ mistake," said Foxshadow, sitting and wrapping her tail around her paws. This was going to be a long conversation, and the reminder of the tom was making the prickle disappear in a wave of hot anger. "But that's not why you are here."

" _You judged Darkpaw and guessed at the murder he had attempted to commit, and punished him appropriately for that mistake,_ " meowed Raggedstar, " _but you went behind your leader's back to do it. This is against the heart of the warrior code._ "

She flattened her ears. "I did what I thought was best for the Clan. I couldn't just stand by like Fireheart did for so many seasons and not do anything about it. I had to act."

" _You may have the saved the Clan from an even worse fate,_ " meowed Redtail. " _With Tigerclaw's loyalist follow now out of ThunderClan and nowhere else to go, it is possible he can restart his life._ "

" _But now he is another Clan's problem_ ," said Lionheart.

Foxshadow nodded. "Exactly. I am a warrior of ThunderClan. That is my concern."

Lionheart's eyes flashed. " _And if he turned them against you? Like how Tigerclaw tried to turn the whole Clan against Ravenfeather? What would you have done then?_ "

Unable to come up with a response, Foxshadow dipped her head, suddenly nervous again. In the momentary silence, Cloudstar spoke up.

" _It is not surprising that you would let Oakstar off easy for what he had done, despite your strong stance on protecting kits._ "

"Oakstar isn't dead anymore," Foxshadow pointed out. "He doesn't go to his perfect paradise in the afterlife anymore. I would not call that letting him off easy. All I did was give him a second chance to make amends."

" _The only reason why you can do that is because of your power over dreams,_ " meowed Cloudstar, with a gesture around them. " _You're entire life as a cat has been nothing more than a dream to you, one which you can never wake from. Visions are just dreams within dreams. This is why you could control what happened to Mapleshade and the others._ "

"I'm in a dream right now?" asked Foxshadow, remembering Dustpelt. "How can everything be so real, then?"

" _You think getting visions from your StarClan ancestors is normal?_ " asked Raggedstar, amused.

Cloudstar explained. " _To you, this world is a dream, but before you arrived it was its own universe. Your powers allowed you to enter our world and change it on a fundamental level._ "

" _Snowkit and Mistlekit; Speckletail's kits became Frostfur's kits,_ " meowed Raggedstar. " _Brightpaw became Goldenflower and Patchpelt's kit. We do not entirely understand why-"_

"Because it makes more sense. Because of their genetics," Foxshadow interrupted. "It's not something you can understand, unless you're ready for a very long lesson on cat genes and I still doubt you'd understand it after that."

" _In other words,_ " Cloudstar continued with an irritated ear flick, " _you're powers are beyond even StarClan. You could practically do anything and everything you ever wanted to do, be whatever you wanted to be, whether you're healed only after a few days of being injured, or just wish yourself to become leader of all the Clans. The world would change to match that dream. This makes StarClan... nervous._ "

"That explains a lot," Foxshadow meowed, wondering if they would still be going after her kits or not. None of the StarClan cats seemed to hear her thoughts and were silent. Raggedstar studied her face carefully and guessed.

" _I have faith in you, Foxshadow_ ," meowed Raggedstar, " _but even I have trouble with what you're doing. There is a reason why StarClan picked some cats to go to StarClan and others to go to the Dark Forest. To go back on those decisions without consulting us is just as bad as banishing an apprentice because you felt he deserved more punishment than what Bluestar was willing to give._ "

" _It is difficult,_ " said Redtail, " _for a deputy to listen to their leader. More so when you've spent much of your young life being on your own."_ He gave her a long look. " _Despite the fact that you were most definitely not a cat when you were young, you still were on your own due to your parents' neglect. With such examples, I can understand why it is hard to respect other adults."_

 _"That doesn't mean you shouldn't,"_ meowed Lionheart. " _You may disagree with them, but in the end they are the leader and you are just a warrior, even if you have appointed deputy."_

"A leader should be respected," Foxshadow meowed, lashing her tail in growing anger, "but not if her decision allows murderers to continue living in her Clan! If Brokenstar was killing kits as an apprentice, should I just stand back and watch my leader forgive him? I did what I believed was right."

" _So did Ravenwing, yet you both broke the warrior code,_ " Cloudstar pointed out.

"That's why I sent him back to ThunderClan," meowed Foxshadow. "For a second chance at being a true and honorable Clan cat."

" _And you?"_ Cloudstar challenged, staring her in the eye. " _No one is going to give you that second chance, Foxshadow. A last minute redemption cannot be just asked for. You must prove you are capable of obeying the warrior code."_

"And," added Raggedstar, " _You cannot just keep sending anyone who you're indecisive about back to the living. How is that going to affect the young cats who are supposed to be born in their stead? You were never given permission to use your powers that way. You will make an enemy out of all of StarClan and The Dark Forest if you continue doing this._ "

Appledusk pipped up. " _Well not all of StarClan._ "

Cloudstar sent him a glare and the former RiverClan warrior wilted. " _Speaking of some of StarClan... Forgiveness of crimes is not something a leader can give. Leaders do not know a cat's inner heart or what they have done when no one else is looking. That is StarClan's right, and StarClan's right alone._ " He glared at Foxshadow, who flattened her ears.

"I have all this power but I'm not allowed to use it?" she asked. "How fair is that?"

" _Remember what you told Darkpaw about fair,_ " hissed Cloudstar. " _Don't let your powers consume your mind."_

Stung, Foxshadow reeled. Could she end up turning out like Tigerclaw if she kept the power for long enough? Absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all.

" _You can use your power,_ " meowed Raggedstar, _"but there are reasons why you shouldn't use it in certain ways. You need to talk with cats before you come to your own decision. No one cat should condemn others based on only what they know. For example, you did not know that Darkpaw had changed, does feel guilty for what he has done, and is more willing now than ever to amend his mistake, but he can no longer do that since you banished him."_

"I could not know," hissed Foxshadow. "I can't read a cat's minds. But neither can Bluestar."

" _That's why she banishes them,_ " Redtail reminded her gently.

" _Exactly,"_ said Cloudstar. " _So why do you think you can judge cats you have never met before and whose hearts you cannot possibly know?"_

The deputy fell silent, looking down at her paws. "I suppose you're right." She lifted her head. "What are you suggesting that I do? I can't stand by and let them get away with this. They deserve trials. They deserve to be told why I did what I did." Her thoughts turned to Darkstripe, and how he died in canon. "No one deserves to suddenly find themselves in the Dark Forest with no clue as to why they are there or what they did wrong to deserve it. That won't help their hearts to change; it will only turn them against you."

The spirits glanced at each other and a quiet murmuring filled the forest, like wind rustling through the trees. Finally, Cloudstar dipped his head.

" _Very well_ ," he meowed. " _We promise to hold a trial on every cat who dies._ "

"With an impartial judge to determine whether they have actually followed the warrior code or not, as it stands during their time?"

Raggedstar glanced at Cloudstar before looking expectantly at Foxshadow. " _There is no reason not to have you do it, and we can overrule your decision based upon the goodness of a cat's heart._ "

"I cannot live forever as a spirit. Even I would have to fade like the rest," meowed Foxshadow. "How can I guarantee that every cat will have a fair trial if I pass on?"

" _Your powers can bend any reality that was once a dream,_ " meowed Cloudstar. " _Once we have them, we can all simply dream that no cat can fade in StarClan and it will be so. I think we all can agree on that._ "

" _I would much prefer,_ " meowed a spotted grey tom with unkempt hair and amber eyes, " _if none of us had any powers at all._ "

Foxshadow bristled and looked at the new tom with suspicion. "Who are you?"

" _This is Goosefeather,"_ meowed Raggedstar with a nod to the tom.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Why are you here?"

" _Did you think I was just going to let your admirers have all the say about what you should do?"_ Goosefeather gave a scathing look at the cats behind him. " _You have too much power, but you can dream it all away or give it to one other cat instead._ "

"So you can abuse it?" hissed Foxshadow.

" _Like you?_ " Goosefeather snorted.

The massive she-cat snarled, pelt bristling.

" _Enough!_ " Cloudstar silenced Goosefeather with a glare. " _Foxshadow's power is hers to do with as she pleases. We can only suggest."_

"If you think I should listen to others before coming to a decision..." Foxshadow meowed slowly, flicking her ears. "What do you think of Goosefeather's suggestion?"

" _I think you should keep it,_ " meowed Raggedstar. " _I trust your judgement._ "

Cloudstar looked away. " _StarClan has always made decisions together, and should continue to do so in the future. If one of us had more power than another, it could destroy what we have in StarClan. However, even StarClan should have a leader. Right now, we are just a bunch of warriors who vote whenever we feel like it is necessary. I wish we had better rules, better guidance. I do not believe your powers can give us that."_

"As far as you know," Foxshadow pointed out unhappily. "I agree that that is a big issue in StarClan, but as you have stated before I cannot just decide who should be leader of StarClan. If I gave you my power, I would have to give it to you all equally, future past and present."

" _How would you do that_?" challenged Goosefeather.

Foxshadow shifted on her paws. "How about... I give it to _something_ instead." She glanced between each of the watching cats, thinking deeply on what they had all told her. "If you all will agree, I will give my powers to the land of StarClan itself, so that all who exist in StarClan can use it but only with the permission of a majority vote."

" _Why?_ " asked Goosefeather, his fur flattening in his confusion. " _Why give up this power?_ "

Flicking her tail, Foxshadow shifted. "It's obvious that I cannot trust myself with this kind of power. If my subconscious will would change this universe so much as to fix something as big as that... it's mind-boggling. How am I expected to control it or expect what else it could do? It's too much! Too much for one cat to handle." She looked around at them. "I believed that cats should only give birth to cats that have inherited the genetically correct coat colors. In many ways, this can be good for the Clan. It helps them to better adapt to their environments and look distinct from other Clans. It will make them stronger separate and weaker together, which is exactly what you want to have if you want a larger number of cats to protect the Clans." She shifted. "But it changed whose kits belonged to who. You have noticed this, probably because my powers haven't affected all of you-" Foxshadow's eyes went wide. " _That_ 's why you prevented me from dreaming of StarClan."

" _One of many reasons_ ," Goosefeather grumbled. " _You dreams warp reality, become reality. We cannot undo the damage. Even if we had your powers, we will not undo some of the damage because we can understand the reason for it, but some of the more accidental stuff needs to be fixed._ "

Foxshadow nodded to herself. "You will know best on what to fix and what not to fix..." She nodded again. "I will give my powers to you after I have made the changes. But what about my nine lives?"

" _You will keep them_ ," meowed Cloudstar. " _As the last living relative of mine, even if you only dreamed yourself as such, and as a warrior who trained an apprentice, you are the only true SkyClan cat alive who is even able to become leader of SkyClan. That is why you're nine lives will stay. All seven of them._ "

"And when I finally do die, after my last life," meowed Foxshadow, looking over at Raggedstar. "What then?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over them.

Raggedstar shifted slowly. " _You will be judged by StarClan, and we will determine whether or not you will end up in StarClan or not. We will not give you a free pass because of the task we have appointed you. You will have to stay on the path of a honorable warrior. You must learn to make the effort with your powers helping you. Not that they were helping you much to begin with."_

Foxshadow shifted uneasily. "What about cats who are dying now?"

Raggedstar relaxed. " _After you lose your powers, your dreams will no longer kill you. We will fill your dreams with the trials of all the warrior cats who die as you live so you can judge them. You will hear honest testimonials from all StarClan cats who were present during their crimes, and you will judge them based on the warrior code, the oaths they swore, and how they broke it. Then, you will determine which afterlife they will go to. We will overrule any decision based upon the goodness of their hearts, the acknowledgement of their guilt, and the regret of their actions."_ He looked at Cloudstar. " _Finally, when you lose all your nine lives, you will continue to do this until the Clans are no more, when the Dark Forest fades to nothing but a memory, and all is left is StarClan._ "

Foxshadow frowned. Without her powers, she wouldn't able to fight foxes or impress the Clan cats like she used to. She'd be normal, maybe even ugly.

 _But if it can prevent cats like Ashfur and Ravenwing from getting into StarClan_ , she thought, _or cats like Thistleclaw from going to the Dark Forest, with a fair trail, then_ _I'm game._

She just couldn't image herself doing that forever and ever. Surely someone else could help her? "There should be other judges," meowed Foxshadow. "What about Shadowstar, Thunderstar, and the others? Shouldn't they have a say?"

" _The warrior code came after them,"_ meowed Cloudstar. _"They can have no say on it."_

"If they've been living as spirits for a long time and can remember the reasons for why each law exists, then they should be present to argue the defense of the cat of their Clan or in defense of the Code the cat broke," argued Foxshadow. "Why can't they be judges as well?"

The StarClan cats looked at each other and began muttering again. Finally, Cloudstar nodded.

" _We will ask them,_ " he meowed.

"I'll give you the powers tonight," meowed Foxshadow, "when I go to sleep. I have other things I need to do first."

Cloudstar nodded, as did Raggedstar, though he looked unhappy with the decision. Goosefeather looked relieved and gave her a deep and respectful bow. Foxshadow returned it, as the fog began to clear and the cats disappeared.

 _Tomorrow, I will not have any powers. What will I look like? Who will I be?_

Foxshadow glanced towards the sky. The sun was already approaching sunhigh. She remembered what Mistleleaf had asked of her and decided she needed to speak to the she-cat once more, especially now that she was going to lose her powers. She hurried back to camp to seek out the junior medicine cat.

When she padded into camp, the sunhigh patrol was just leave after exchanging a few words with the dawn patrol. She nodded to Mousefur, the head of the patrol, who stiffly returned the nod. Confused, Foxshadow padded towards the medicine cat den, careful to check for Yellowfang's scent and raspy breathing before entering the fern tunnel.

"Mistleleaf?" She glanced around until her eyes landed on the silvery pale gray shape of the medicine cat. "Hey, Mistleleaf, I came to ask about...?"

The white she-cat's shoulder's were shaking. "It's too late, isn't it?"

Before Foxshadow could ask if Mistleleaf had known StarClan would contact her, she registered the distress in her voice and quickly searched around for Cinderheart. The pale tortoiseshell was still curled up in her nest and when Foxshadow stepped forward, she was relieved to her chest still rise and fall. Confused, she padded up beside Mistleleaf and pressed her tail comfortingly into her shoulder.

"Cinderheart is okay," she meowed soothingly, confusion plain on her face. "What's wrong, Mistleleaf?"

The odd-eyed cat looked at Foxshadow, growing still and silent as she searched Foxshadow's face. "What did they do to you?"

The strange tone made Foxshadow's fur stand on end. "There's nothing StarClan can do to me without my permission," meowed Foxshadow sternly. "You should have faith in your warrior ancestors."

Mistleleaf blinked. "You... they didn't talk to you?"

"They did," meowed Foxshadow. "We came to an agreement. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't think I can heal Cinderheart. Even if I could, I would just have to do the same to Darkpaw, to Thornclaw, and to Brightface, but I won't be able to. Not after tonight. It wouldn't be fair to heal one and not the others."

"But Cinderheart could die," whimpered Mistleleaf, glancing down at the quiet pale tabby warriors.

"It's going to be okay," assured Foxshadow. "Cinderheart is an honorable warrior. Though she may not be long for this world, you will see her again in StarClan."

Mistleleaf looked at Cinderheart, her eyes looking distressed. "And her kits?"

Foxshadow's mouth opened and hung there in the air. Her snapped around to pad towards the pale tortoiseshell. She sniffed her stomach, but it wasn't nearly as extended as Sandstorm's or Foxshadow's. There was a definite new smell to the she-cat, beneath the smell of infection.

"Cinderheart's kits," Foxshadow breathed. "Mistleleaf, are you treating her the same way you are a normal mother?"

"No," Mistleleaf meowed somberly. "It would kill the kits."

Foxshadow felt dizzy. It was an impossible choice. The kits or their mother. She looked at Cinderheart, watched her chest rise and fall slowly, the barest bulge in her stomach.

"How long will it take for the infection to kill her?" Foxshadow asked.

A shiver passed over the white cat's shoulders. "A few days. Maybe a week."

The deputy's head whipped around. That wasn't a choice at all. "Mistleleaf," Foxshadow murmured, pressing into the white she-cat's side and wrapping her tail around the smaller she-cat. She felt like a mother comforting her five moon old kitten. "I know you can see them there. I know it is terrible that you're being forced to make this choice, but you know there is only one choice you can make. If you do not make a decision soon, you will lose them all." Foxshadow looked thoughtfully at the wall. "Cinderheart will not be able to survive unless she receives proper treatment, and if she can't survive than neither will her kits. They are too small and too underdeveloped and will not be able to last through any kind of treatment you give Cinderheart. You simply don't have the time." She gazed into Mistleleaf's blue eye. "The only thing you can do is save Cinderheart. I'm sorry, kitten, but the kits will not be able to survive. At all."

Her face broke. "Why?"

Foxshadow could almost imagine tears streaming down her face her eyes were so watery. But a cat cannot cry. No, not one in the reality she had accidentally changed through her own existence.

She tore her gaze away. "Why would StarClan do this?"

"Mistleleaf," murmured Foxshadow, "StarClan cannot control the universe. This is beyond them. The only person who can control this situation is you. Mistleleaf, you have to save Cinderheart."

The white cat's shoulder shook. "I can't. I can't kill them."

"You'd be killing them all if you don't do something now," meowed Foxshadow, tail lashing. She couldn't force Mistleleaf to do it. "Tell me which of the herbs do I need to use and how to use it."

Mistleleaf whipped around. "No! It isn't your duty."

"Someone has to do it, Mistleleaf," urged Foxshadow. "Or Cinderheart is going to die."

"You want me to kill her kits!?" Mistleleaf wailed. "They're just kits!"

"They aren't kits, Mistleleaf!" Foxshadow growled. "They're just spirits. They can't be alive because they aren't born! But Cinderheart is alive! And she will never have the chance to give birth to her own kits if you don't save her now!"

"You really think so?" Mistleleaf whimpered.

"I know so," meowed Foxshadow firmly. She knew she had to convince her. To save Cinderheart. "It's either none of them survive or Cinderheart survives. There is no way the kits can survive."

Mistleleaf stared at her in shook, before she slowly flattened her ears and lowered head. "I understand." The medicine cat shook, closing her eyes as she sucked in a steadying breath. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it."

"I'll be here, Mistleleaf," murmured Foxshadow gently. "It's going to be okay."

The young medicine cat nodded and turned to the herbs, pawing gently through them. Foxshadow glanced around, trying to scent for Yellowfang, but the she-cat was missing. Foxshadow wondered why. When Mistleleaf finished gathering a bundle of marigold and sweet sedge and started padding towards the sleeping warrior, Foxshadow followed after her.

"Mistleleaf, did you use poppyseeds to put her to sleep?" Foxshadow was sure she hadn't because they would have been horrible for the kits.

The white she-cat shook her head and put the bundle down. "It's the fever. Ravenfeather wasn't able to wake her two nights ago."

Foxshadow flinched at the mention of the cat she had become warrior alongside. "I see." She remembered that Ravenfeather had been walking out on the sunhigh patrol, along with Mousefur and Brackenfur. Both her siblings must be thinking about her now. "Let's make sure she's ready to speak to him tomorrow."

Mistleleaf gave a shaky sigh as she started working on the poultice. "Can you grab a honeysuckle and some tansy for her to swallow?"

Tansy. Another herb that could hurt pregnant queens. Feeling sick, Foxshadow nodded and quickly padded off to find the white flower. She remembered she used to pick them off a plant in her backyard. The American plant did not look right among a bunch of British herbs and plants, but she grabbed it anyway and brought it back. Mistleleaf was already licking the poultice into the wound, when she stopped.

"I'll hold her mouth open and you put a drop in," she ordered.

Foxshadow didn't need to be told twice as she carefully pulled the flower off to reveal the drop of honey, which she carefully wiped across Cinderheart's limp tongue. When she was done, Mistleleaf return to licking the poultice in while Foxshadow licked Cinderheart's milky grey-and-cream throat. So different from the dark, smokey gray she-cat who fell in love with Fireheart and was forced to become a medicine cat. When she felt Cinderheart swallow under her licks, she pulled back and reached for the tansy.

"I need you to open her mouth again," Foxshadow meowed. "I'm going to give her the tansy."

After a moment's hesitation where a shudder ran through her spine, Mistleleaf turned away from her licking to lift Cinderheart's mouth open, and Foxshadow carefully ripped up the tansy leaf, placing the pieces on her semi-dry tongue. She hoped that would make it easier for her to swallow. When Mistleleaf closed Cinderheart's mouth, she jerked her paws away as if she had been touching something disgusting and was glad to not longer feel it on her fur. Foxshadow felt the sick feeling her stomach grow as she licked Cinderheart's throat to get her to swallow. She felt her throat ripple under her touch and pulled back with a sigh.

"I need to put more honey on her tongue," she rasped.

Mistleleaf looked grim, but she turned and lifted Cinderheart's mouth open. Foxshadow put another drop on her tongue. It became their rhythm, licking Cinderheart, pausing occasionally to put another drop of honey on her tongue and make sure she swallowed it. It would help to soothe the infection while Mistleleaf's poultice worked into the wound to heal the injuries. The tansy would help the wound to heal and the honey would help her swallow the tansy and give her energy to overcome the terrible wound.

"I'm done," meowed Mistleleaf, rising to her paws and looking like she had just been through a harrowing battle. She dipped her head and sniffed Cinderheart's wound carefully. "I think I covered all of it."

Foxshadow purred. "You did good," she rasped, voice hoarse from constantly licking. "We should let her rest."

"You should rest," meowed Mistleleaf. "You've been running around all over the place for the last two days."

The deputy wondered if Mistleleaf knew about Mapleshade's visit, too, before snorting to herself. Of course Mistleleaf knew. She probably saw Mapleshade's spirit when Foxshadow left the camp. And StarClan's. The memory of their visit made her shiver.

Tomorrow she wouldn't have any powers.

"You're right," rasped Foxshadow, licking her dry lips. "I'll head to my nest right away after I've told Fireheart that he's to organize patrols tomorrow morning."

Mistleleaf flicked her ears. "Okay."

With a dip of her head, Foxshadow turned and padded away from her... adopted daughter? Foxshadow shook herself, padding slowly towards her nest.

Tomorrow scared her. She didn't know what she'd be like without her powers - what her Clan would see when she was without her powers. She had to tell Bluestar she was going to retire. Her paws took her to the leader's den. She had to tell Bluestar something. She had to retire today.

Foxshadow padded passed the lichen wall and into the humid den. Bluestar was talking quietly with Fireheart. Foxshadow's lips twitched, but not from amusement.

 _I guess, two birds with one stone._

"Bluestar," she meowed with a dip of her head. "Fireheart. I have something I need to say."

"Is it Cinderheart?" meowed Fireheart, rising to his paws, fur spiking.

"No," meowed Foxshadow, glancing down at her tail tip. "It's me. I've decided I'm going to retire."

Fireheart blinked in surprise.

Eyes wide, Bluestar rose to her paws. "Today? I thought you wanted to wait a quarter moon."

Foxshadow flattened her ears. "I've decided that it can't wait anymore." She glanced at Fireheart. "Cinderheart is expecting kits, too, but Mistleleaf told me that treating her infection would kill the kits." Foxshadow remembered what waited for her tomorrow. She wanted to hide, to run away, to wait out the storm she could feel coming. "I don't want to be put in a position where my kits could be in danger. I've decided to retire."

The blue-gray queen stared at her. "You've made up your mind," she meowed softly, ears flattening. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm not dying," Foxshadow meowed, but she couldn't feel amused. Only anxiety. It felt like she was going to die. "I'll be in the nursery. And besides, we both know who you've decided is going to be made deputy."

The two cats stared at her. Bluestar lowered her gaze. "When do you want us to announce it?"

"At dusk," rasped Foxshadow. "I'm going to go tell Dustpelt before the announcement. He doesn't know yet."

"Is he in camp?" Bluestar asked sharply.

After a brief moment, Foxshadow nodded. "Yes. He was only on the dawn patrol. I'll speak to him right away."

Fireheart dipped his head. "It'll be weird when you aren't deputy." He shuffled on his paws and glanced at Bluestar curiously.

Foxshadow gave him a wave of her tail and padded out into the camp, her paws taking her to the warrior's den. Her gaze swept the camp for her mate, and she saw him next to the apprentice den speaking to Harrierpaw and his siblings. They listened intently, and Foxshadow wondered if he was instructing them on how to do better at hunting. When she approached, she couldn't help a purr in amusement.

"-leaped at the RiverClan warrior! Foxshadow jumped almost as high up as the Great Rock, and landed on his back! They were almost the same size, but Foxshadow was much more ferocious! She grabbed him by the next and tossed him through the air! He landed right in the river! She yowled-!"

"Is that what happened at the RiverClan border battle all those moons ago?" Foxshadow rasped, amused. "I must have been asleep during the whole thing. I don't remember throwing anyone at all!"

"Foxshadow! Uh, I'll see you all tomorrow." Embarrassed, Dustpelt fluffed up his fur and shooed the apprentices away with a tail. Harrierpaw opened his mouth to complain, but one knowing glance between the two of them had him rolling his eyes and padding away. Foxshadow purred.

"I didn't know you had taken over entertaining the apprentices for me," Foxshadow rasped.

"I'm just- well, I thought-" Dustpelt shuffled on his paws. "You're voice sounds strange. What happened?"

Wincing at the reminder, Foxshadow instead pulled Dustpelt close and flicked an ear towards the empty nursery. Confused, the dark brown tabby followed her inside. Foxshadow noted that there were no new nests, but the entire floor was covered in a thick layer of moss, feathers, and bedding from seasons passed. It was almost like walking on sponges. She remembered that she needed to tell Mistleleaf that moss was a disinfectant and should be pinned to a wound using spiderwebs. That would have to wait, though.

"I've got some good news," she rasped as she looked at him, feeling shy. "I'm- I'm retiring from the deputy position."

"What?" Dustpelt's fur fluffed up in alarm. "How is that good news?"

Foxshadow swished her tail uncomfortably. "Because, Dustpelt, I'm- I'm expecting your kits."

The dusky brown tabby tom stared at her, mouth agape. "What, really!?" he meowed shrilly, teeth bared in a grin.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "I'm retiring at dusk to sleep in the nursery-"

A wall of fur pressed up against her, nearly bursting with energy. "You're expecting kits! My kits! Oh, Foxshadow, this is great news! The Clan is going to have apprentices soon- I'm going to be a father!"

Foxshadow gave a tiny purr. "Bluestar's going to make the announcement at dusk."

"This is wonderful!" Dustpelt buried his face into her neck and wrapped his tail around her. "You're amazing, Foxshadow."

The massive she-cat purred and wrapped her tail around him, too. "I hope you don't mind Fireheart being your deputy from now on."

Dustpelt huffed quietly, but his fur stayed fluffed up in excitement.

Foxshadow purred. "So, do you have any suggestions for names?"

"Snakekit and Badgerkit," Dustpelt said instantly.

"How plain!" meowed Foxshadow, trying to think of better and similar names for them. "Why not Viperkit or Boakit, and Brockkit or Sowkit? It'll make them unique, and they'd still named after snakes and badgers."

"Viperkit," meowed Dustpelt thoughtfully, "and Brockkit. We are going to have at least one tom, right?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "Who knows. I just hope they're all healthy and survive leaf-bare."

Dustpelt pressed into her, his purr subdued. They leaned against each other quietly, purring until the sound of Bluestar calling the Clan together forced them to part. When they padded out into the camp, Fireheart was already waiting at the base of Highrock, frowning. Foxshadow joined him, towering a good head and ears over the short kittypet.

"Cats of ThunderClan!" yowled Bluestar. "Our deputy has decided it is time for her to retire to the nursery. Foxshadow, ThunderClan thanks you for your wisdom and your bravery. You have served your Clan well, and we are grateful to hear that you are expecting kits. Your wisdom and your loyalty will continue to serve the Clan and you kits will be a great addition to the Clan."

"Foxshadow! Foxshadow!" The Clan's voices rose like thunder as they chanted her name. Foxshadow wondered how many of them were being affected by her powers and couldn't help but frown at the noise.

Bluestar looked down expectantly at Fireheart. "Fireheart. You will be ThunderClan's deputy from this day forward. May StarClan grant you the courage to help your Clan face whatever lies in its path. And when the time comes for you to take my place, I pray to will shine at the head of our Clan."

"Fireheart! Fireheart!"

The response from the Clan was more subdued. She noticed that Dustpelt and Longtail weren't cheering and purred. At least, they're reactions were real.

 _How am I going to feel like I earned the deputy position next time when all I can think about is how everyone is just hero worshiping me because of my powers?_ She shifted on her paws. How could one meeting with StarClan make her question her life in the Clan so much? It was obvious she had a lot to think about, and roughly seven moons to think about it.

"I didn't know you were having kits," meowed Ravenfeather, stepping out of the crowd. "Are they Dustpelt's?"

Foxshadow nodded enthusiastically, though her heart was falling into her paws. "Yup! You're an Uncle!" _You should be a father, too,_ she thought, trying not to react to the stab of pain in her heart. _Poor Ravenfeather. I hope you never learn about the kits you and Cinderheart might lose._ Feeling selfish and grimacing at herself, Foxshadow dipped her head to the confused tom, and muttered an "excuse me" before powering towards the nursery. Brindleface and Goldenflower were suddenly on either side of her.

"I can't wait to see what your kits are going to look like!" Goldenflower gushed. "They're all probably going to be as big as RiverClan kits!"

"Are you okay, Foxshadow?" murmured Brindleface, her voice low. "You look ill."

"I'm okay," Foxshadow murmured back. "It's just..." She glanced at Goldenflower and gave Brindleface a pained look. She didn't want to burst Goldenflower's bubble.

"Goldenflower," meowed Brindleface. "Why don't you go tell Willowpelt the good news while I tell Foxshadow what she can expect during kitting?"

"Sure!" beamed the she-cat. "Oh, I hope they're as beautiful as your mate!"

Remembering that the Clan thought she was ugly because of her oriental shaped head, Foxshadow actually laughed. "Prettier!" she tossed back, amused.

With Goldenflower gone, Foxshadow ducked quickly into the nursery and turned around.

"I'll have to ask the apprentices to Clan out some of this moss and put in a new layer," Brindleface meowed, lip curling in disgust.

The massive she-cat and former deputy gave the floor a disinterested glance. "Brindleface, I spoke with Mistleleaf about Cinderheart. She's pregnant, Brindleface, but the herbs... she had to use tansy."

Brindleface's eyes went wide as she gasped. She suddenly rose to her paws. "I have to go see her."

"She's still asleep, Brindleface." Foxshadow jumped forward to stop the elder. "And you have to be careful. Ravenfeather doesn't know, and I don't want him to know his mate's..." She glanced outside and lowered her voice."Going to lose his kits. I don't even know if Cinderheart knows."

"Mistleleaf shouldn't have given her the tansy!" Brindleface meowed furiously. Foxshadow flinched.

"It couldn't be helped, Brindleface. The kits aren't developed enough and she would die from her infection if they waited for her to give birth. That's a moon and half away. They had to do something." She could tell from Brindleface's expression that she wasn't willing to listen. She'd have to lie to convince Brindleface it was better to keep it a secret. Foxshadow dipped her head and murmured carefully. "Mistleleaf could see their spirits, Brindleface. I... I think they might already be in StarClan."

"No!" gasped the she-cat.

When Foxshadow lifted her head, the old she-cat was already gone. Foxshadow suspected that she would be sleeping with her daughter tonight.

The sun had set and night was rapidly descending over the Clan. After a long hard day of working, the Clan was heading to their den. Foxshadow watched them silently from the entrance to the nursery, and lowered her head with a sigh. Tonight, sleep would not come to her. The moon rose slowly until it was high overhead, bathing the camp in silver light.

 _Scrt, scrt._

A strange noise began to rise in the cold silence. The crisp air carried sounds farther than the warmth of the sun, and with leaf-bare approaching, the sounds would only get crisper. Without even the wind rustling through the treetops to help lull her to sleep, only the annoying sound, she wouldn't be able to dream that night.

She rose to her paws with a sigh and padded out into the camp and towards the prey pile. She couldn't remember eating that day and decide she needed to grab a squirrel for herself. The strange noises had stopped, wherever they had been coming from, and Foxshadow quickly forgot about them. She needed to focus on giving her powers to StarClan, anyway. She took a few bites of the squirrel before stretching out near the nursery's entrance. She idly recognized the shape of Patchpelt sitting by himself on vigil, since Brindleface was suddenly busy. She wondered if she should rouse someone to join him or simply join him herself since she didn't feel tired. Her contemplation was interrupted by a very faint noise.

 _Scrt, skoosh, scrt._

 _I should figure out what that is,_ she decided, hoping it was a chipmunk or a squirrel. Remembering her half-eaten prey, she swallowing a few more bites before burying the remains. The sounds didn't stop, and her ears swiveled to locate the source. The moon was high in the sky overhead, bathing everything in moonlight. She swung her head left to right, trying to locate the noise. It brought her to the entrance to the nursery, where the noise seemed to bounce around in the crowded space. She looked around, brows furrowed, wondering what kind of animal would nest in the thick moss floor. She padded forward silently, cautiously, until she was halfway across the den.

 _Scrt, scrt._

A beam of moonlight blinked through a gap at the back of the nursery. The back wall shook. The interwoven branches which could withstand an attack from badgers shook like a whole heard of horses were clomping and stomping overhead. Long, bone white claws hooked around the thick trunk of the bush – the bush that had been put exactly where that old hole had been, where Foxshadow had put it herself a few seasons back, to grow into the wall and protect the nursery – and yanked it out, opening a gap just large enough for a kit to break through. She recognized the cat paw which hooked into the hole. There was no mistaking those long claws.

Her heart clawing through her throat, Foxshadow whipped around and pelted out of the den and towards the bramble wall. She leaped over it in a single mighty bound and whipped around the other side of the apprentice's den until she was standing two fox-lengths away from the trespasser. His broad-shoulders, scarred face, and black tiger tabby stripes were unmistakeable at this distance, even though it had been almost a life time since she had seen him.

 _Tigerclaw._

With a shriek of rage, she thundered towards the tom, startling him. He whipped around, and their eyes locked, his amber eyes wide and round with surprise before they narrowed into angry slits. He hissed and shifted his stance to take the blow. She leaped over him, twisting, before landing and kicking his legs out from under him. He yowled, and she leaped onto his chest, claws unsheathed. She was so close that she could see the single long, shallow scar running down his underbelly. The one she had given him when she tried to slash his throat out when he was leaping for Bluestar. She snarled into his face, spitting and hissing, and Tigerclaw's hindpaws kicked out against her stomach bulge. With a yowl, she found herself rolled aside, stunned.

As the yowls from camp grew louder, Tigerclaw rose his claws to strike for Foxshadow's throat. She stared up at him, unable to move, and their eyes connected. They both knew he couldn't kill her. With a yowl of rage, Tigerclaw turned and bolted down the ravine. A sleek shape bolted after him from the entrance of the camp, and a black tom burst out from behind the camp, pelting after the rapidly disappearing tom. Another cat pelted towards her, golden fur glowing silver in the moonlight.

"Foxshadow! Oh, Foxshadow!" meowed Goldenflower. "What _happened!?"_

Bluestar appeared next to her, fur ruffled, and Foxshadow struggled to stand. Her belly hurt, and she suddenly felt fear for her kits.

"It was Tigerclaw. He was trying to reopen the hole at the back of the nursery," she meowed. Her head swam and she felt dizzy. What had he been trying to do? The answer filled her stomach with dread.

"Are you uninjured?" Bluestar's mew was sharp. "Can you walk?"

Goldenflower pressed into her back as she struggled onto her paws. "Yes," meowed Foxshadow though she honestly had no idea if she could. "Take me to the medicine cat den. I need someone to check my belly."

Bluestar nodded and pressed into her shoulder. "Longtail, go wake Yellowfang."

Foxshadow wrinkled her nose at the name, but said nothing. Longtail was already rushing back into camp. When she stepped back into the camp, Patchpelt was the first one to talk to her.

"I heard yowling," he meowed fiercely. "What were you doing, Foxshadow?"

Before Foxshadow could answer, Bluestar meowed. "Tigerclaw was just behind the nursery." She gave Foxshadow a look that told the former deputy she was going to be lectured later, but Foxshadow was too tired to stand it.

"I need rest," the queen meowed, already feeling her eyes droop closed. "I'll be fine."

She didn't believe her own words and didn't look at Bluestar, not wanting her to see her fear. She had no idea what the world was going to be like when she woke up or how different it would be once StarClan had her powers.

 _I need to tell Bluestar about my nine lives_ , she thought, _but not until tomorrow._

Remembering that someone will need to keep an eye on the nursery, she meowed to Bluestar. "Put Tawnypaw, Cloudpaw, and Ashpaw on watch behind the nursery. Sandstorm told me that Snowpaw needs one on one time with his training."

Bluestar nodded. "As long as you get some sleep."

* * *

 **A/N: I recently did some research on Cobras and discovered that they don't exist in England or the United States. But vipers do. So, I decided to switch Cobrastrike's name to Viperstrike. It better fits her character, too.**

 **Also, I need to explain a few things. The deputy retirement ceremony has been modified from the one in Bluestar's Prophecy which was given when Tawnyspots stepped down to become an elder. I chose that particular ceremony because there hasn't been a she-cat stepping down to go to the nursery ceremony before and it was closest to what I needed, plus it made more sense than "I say these words before the body of the former deputy" ceremony which is performed during the first story arc after the deputy dies.**

 **There's going to be a new perspective for the next three or four chapters, a sort of novella that is going to fill in a couple of blanks and explain a few things happening outside the Clans. Anyone who can guess who it is going to be (I'll give you three guesses), you'll get a cookie! :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	67. Tawnypaw's Guilt pt 1 (ADP 5-1)

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Been trying to get a job, and there's a lot of bad luck around the house right now so everything keeps getting broken or destroyed. :/ Anyway, we have the completed pic of BraveSeeker3's fanart: h*t*t*p*s*:*/*www*.*quotev*.*com*/*story*/*10895453*/*Fanart-for-Fanfics*/*5 (remove *s)  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Yea! That's good to hear!  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Tigerclaw has returned!**

 **AnonChan1: (1) Good guess! (2) Yeah, they've been lax in their duty. (3) Not from StarClan. (4) No she isn't! But they hardly actually guide cats, just give them ridiculous prophecies that are too vague to be of any use and by the time it's over the only people the prophecy seem to help are through who get antsy over whether or not something or other i s going to turn out fine. (5) It's also power she isn't even used to, so she can't even control it, so having it and it being as powerful and unpredictable as it is is actually detrimental to her. (6) I love the scene. It shows that even though Foxshadow loves kits, she also knows when it's impossible save the kits. Sometimes, choosing the mother is better. It's the same thing with Frecklewish - ultimately, saving the kits would have only gotten Frecklewish killed. The thing Foxshadow really blames Frecklewish for is the fact that Frecklewish could have tried running after them in the hopes of seeing if she could do something to save them but did not, AND the warrior code itself actually supports her decision or at least doesn't condemn it because the kits weren't Clan cats at that point. (7) Lol, true. Glad Dustpelt is still cute. (8) We get a bit about her in this chapter. Hmmm.**

 **WolfWriter123: I've neglected Tigerclaw. I needed to bring him back way sooner, but the plot wouldn't allow for it. And, it could be possible that Foxshadow only thinks that her powers are affecting them in that way. It could just be a perception filter - everyone sees her as a much stronger, cleaner, healthier warrior - or it could depend on the cat. For instance, Dustpelt doesn't see any difference while cats like Tawnypaw can see a major difference.**

 **Shadowmist Of ShadowClan: Good guesses.**

 **Blazefeather: (5) Hm, that isn't even something I considered. Maybe, if they are judging Medicine cats, then they would ask the original medicine cats to standby. (6) We shall see. (7) Wolf.**

 **Spottedsky1234: DarkClan is currently out searching for Brokenstar's head so that Blackfoot can become leader.**

 **Catlover49: Same. Poor dears. Also, INCORRECT!**

 **Amy The Shipping Goddess: lol. I thought so, too.**

 **Lightningfire-star: (whenever I use the . in your name, it refuses to appear. Blame ffnet for it's insane attempts to control links) Thank you so much! (1) Ravenwing and Oakstar. (2) It wouldn't, shouldn't, couldn't. Foxy is just worried she's a Mary Sue. I'm not very good at making those kind of things free. (3) She didn't think of it. (4) Because they have plans for her. (5) Yes! (6) You will see.**

* * *

Whenever her thoughts drifted, Tawnypaw thought of Darkpaw, lying mutilated in a WindClan medicine cat den and barely able to move. She felt like she was the one with those terrible wounds whenever the memory seared through her mind. Her hindleg hurt, her tail kinked over her back uncomfortably, and her face burned.

It made no sense. Why would any cat do that to an apprentice let alone her father? Sure, he was banished from the Clan because it was discovered he killed the former deputy and because he tried to kill Bluestar, but surely he wouldn't harm an apprentice? At least, that was what she hoped before Tigerclaw's latest attack on the nursery. If Tigerclaw had been planning to kill ThunderClan's kits, he was beyond all hope.

Her face must have given her away because Brightface interrupted her thoughts, her voice gentle and soft. "Tawnypaw, could you make sure that the elders and queens have been fed today?"

Tawnypaw avoided looking at her mentor. "Sure, Brightface," she meowed.

"Okay," breathed Brightface.

 _Did she sound hurt?_ Tawnypaw wondered, wincing. _Or was that disappointment?_

When she heard the warrior pad away, Tawnypaw felt a pang of guilt and glanced after her, wincing again when she saw Brightface's torn ear. It was hard to forget what she had done. It was harder still to ignore the whispered conversations and derisive looks directed at her and the rest of the older apprentices. The warriors were not happy with them. Tawnypaw mostly received cold glances and rude remarks from the senior warriors, especially from Mousefur.

It wasn't as bad as how they treated Ashpaw; the rumor that Ashpaw had run away without helping any of the other apprentices had spread like wildfire. Tawnypaw wasn't sure who had started it or whether it was true, but every cat in the camp absolutely hated Ashpaw. More than Cloudpaw or Snowpaw, since the two toms had tried to run back and save the other apprentices.

Tawnypaw remembered when Ashpaw had been chased from the elders' den, a furious Patchpelt hissing and spitting after him, though Ashpaw had only been doing his chores. Tawnypaw was not surprised when Ashpaw refused to go hunting, despite Brackenfur's and Sandstorm's insistence, and opted to wait behind for news on Darkpaw, the only other cat who could share his pain. And then he got double duty for the next quarter moon. Ashpaw blamed Sandstorm and Foxshadow for it, but Tawnypaw was still conflicted on whether or not Foxshadow really intended to sabotage any of the apprentices.

On the other paw, Brightface had always been nice to the four apprentices, even Ashpaw, and she didn't deserve to be treated this way. Another wave of guilt shook her. Tawnypaw couldn't understand why Foxshadow didn't give her to someone else. Every day with her had to be a horrible reminder of who was to blame for her terrible injuries.

With a heavy sigh, Tawnypaw forced herself to her paws and padded slowly over to the fresh-kill pile. She took a large bankvole for Patchpelt and slowly approached the elder's den.

"Hello, Tawnypaw," Patchpelt greeted, as he rose to his paws. He eyes her prey appreciatively. "Is that for me?"

Tawnypaw dipped her head and jerked her head to toss the vole at his paws. "I hope you like it."

Patchpelt licked his lips. "Better than a small mouse." It wasn't exactly a compliment but Tawnypaw dipped her head gratefully anyway, relieved.

Instead of bending over the morsel to eat, black-and-white elder looked her over thoughtfully. "What's bugging you, Tawnypaw?"

Tawnypaw flinched. "What do you mean?" she wondered, hoping the elder hadn't noticed.

Patchpelt purred. "I know my daughter very well. She wouldn't have sent you if you weren't worrying over something." He stared at her expectantly.

 _Brightface is Patchpelt's daughter? I thought Brindleface's kits were his._ Uncomfortable, Tawnypaw dipped her head, thinking quickly. "I w-was thinking about my warrior ceremony," she meowed nervously. "I-I don't think I'll ever become a warrior."

The elder shifted his bony hips painfully. "I wouldn't say that," he meowed softly. "You're very brave, Tawnypaw. Everyone in ThunderClan knows that you'll be a great warrior one day." He studied her thoughtfully. "You shouldn't let the deaths of your fellow apprentices stop you from doing your best to follow the warrior code."

Tawnypaw could still remember the scents and faces of all the cats she last saw alive that day. First Eaglepaw, who bravely and foolishly faced down a rabid dog before it crushed him to death, then Beepaw, who bleed to death beside her while they hid in the treetops waiting for help, and finally the two warriors Runningwind and Swiftwind, who rushed around her tree to attract the dogs' attention and vanished out of sight. They were found later at Lion's Trap, ripped to shreds. Tawnypaw shuddered. No one knew exactly what had happened but Brackenfur had been convinced they had died fighting to their last breathe. Foxshadow had insisted that they each received their own grave out of respect for their memory, even the dead apprentices. The entire Clan had agreed, and Bluestar had given them all a warrior's farewell. Tawnypaw numbly wondered if StarClan had made Beepaw and Eaglepaw warriors in StarClan, along with the rest of those who had died.

 _Too bad all that death was for nothing_ , thought Tawnypaw gloomily. The dogs hadn't left, but were eventually killed off by a bloodthirsty dog who had nearly killed Foxshadow before twolegs killed it with a thunderstick. It seemed like a clawed slap to the face - if the apprentices had only waited a moon, they would all be warriors and the dogs would have been killed off by the giant crazed dog. Then, Foxshadow would have handled it, like she does everything else. No one would have died.

Fur brushed up against her and a tail rested comfortingly around her shoulders. "I'm sure Darkpaw is going to be fine, too," Patchpelt murmured, but he could tell his words had no effect. "Why don't you share this vole with me? I could use the company, and maybe I could tell you a story."

Tawnypaw was tempted to accept but shook her head. "I have to feed the queens."

The elder's whiskers drooped in a frown. "Well, maybe you can ask Foxshadow for a story. I'm sure she has many from before she joined ThunderClan."

Tawnypaw blinked. "Foxshadow was a rogue?" she asked.

"Of course," meowed Patchpelt. "She was found on our territory when Tigerclaw and some of our other warriors were preparing to drive away a family of foxes. She came down right out of a tree and scared them off - right in front of the our warriors!" The elder's eyes grew distant. "I remember hearing that she told Bluestar afterwards that she wanted to live in a place where her kits could be safe, and now, four seasons later, she's a queen of ThunderClan and our former deputy. She and her kits couldn't safer." His chest puffed out in pride.

 _That definitely sounds like Foxshadow,_ Tawnypaw mused. "I'll do that," meowed Tawnypaw, though she wasn't sure she would. She just didn't feel up to it. "Thanks, Patchpelt."

"You're very welcome," Patchpelt meowed. He licked his chest fur, embarrassed. "Be sure to visit more often. I love the company."

Tawnypaw dipped her head and turned away, padding out into the sun. She took a squirrel off the fresh-kill pile - it was no secret in ThunderClan that Foxshadow absolutely loved squirrels - and padded a little more cautiously towards the queen's den.

Foxshadow was curled up in the darkest part of the nursery, to the right of the entrance and far away from the sliver of light which pooled at the bottom of the hole Tigerclaw had put in the back of the nursery. Her sun-gold eyes snapped open when Tawnypaw stepped in, and she gave a loud sniff.

"Is that squirrel for me?" she asked.

Tawnypaw hesitated, blinking at the strange bright eyes Foxshadow had. They glowed with an inner light Tawnypaw couldn't describe, as if Foxshadow had the power of the sun itself shining behind them. She shook herself; the sun had no power, as far as she new. It wasn't a star.

"Yeah," she meowed, tossing the squirrel towards her. She was glad that the queen was hiding in the darkness; Foxshadow wouldn't be able to see whatever expression was on Tawnypaw's face that Patchpelt and Brightface had seen.

Foxshadow purred, flicking out a five-clawed paw to scoop the prey towards her. "I love squirrel," she meowed.

 _I know,_ Tawnypaw thought, whiskers twitching. _Everyone knows._

"It's not as good as rabbit," Foxshadow continued, "but you need others here to eat it with you. At least I can eat a squirrel all by myself." She took a bite of the squirrel, fur and all, and spat out a few shards of bone. "Hm, did I ever show you a trick on how to get the most out of piece of prey?" Foxshadow's eyes glowed when they looked at Tawnypaw.

Tawnypaw remembered when she and her siblings had turned three moons, when their mother stopped producing milk for them. It was on that moon when Foxshadow had decided to start playing with them, teaching them about the warrior code and the importance of Clan structure. Foxshadow had always made Brambleclaw the leader of one Clan and Tawnypaw the leader of the other, and had told them both that they were the nephew and niece of Lionheart, a former deputy, and the son and daughter of Tigerclaw, another former deputy, and as such were both equally capable of becoming leaders of a Clan.

Back then, Tawnypaw had no idea how evil her father was, only that he had been a big and powerful warrior, and that Foxshadow always changed the subject when they asked for more details about him. She didn't tell them the truth until days before their apprentice ceremony, when she had determined that they were old enough to understand that what Tigerclaw had done was wrong. Foxshadow had gathered her and all her siblings quietly in the prisoner's den. Tawnypaw could remember Foxshadow's words clearly; " _I know some of your Clanmates are going to judge you for it, but I want you to know that neither Tigerclaw's actions nor his blood is going to change who you really are. You decide your own fate and your own futures. You can choose between following your father's path or being the warrior StarClan knows you can be. Nothing anyone else says is going to change that._ "

Tawnypaw blinked away the memories and shook her head. "No, I don't think you did."

Foxshadow purred and almost immediately launched into an explanation. "Well, mice, voles, and what have you have bones, as you well know, but some bones are bigger than others. If you crunch these bones up and lick out the insides, which is called marrow, you can get more meat out of your prey." As if to accentuate her point, Foxshadow crunched a large white bone, revealing the marrow, and licked it up. She made a face. "Doesn't taste all that good, though, but I'm sure it'll come in handy during leaf-bare."

Relaxing, Tawnypaw purred. It felt good to be beside her kitsitter. It reminded her of times when everyone was alive, and she didn't have Clanmates giving her judgmental looks. Then she remembered Tigerclaw and wondered if they had always given her those looks. _Is it even possible to prove to them I can be a warrior?_

Foxshadow nudged her hard enough to stagger her. "Are you okay? You spaced out there, Tawnypaw."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tawnypaw meowed quickly. She glanced away from Foxshadow and heard the purr die in the older she-cat's throat. Her shoulder fur prickled self-consciously. She blurted out; "Patchpelt said you used to be a rogue."

"A rogue is someone who lives outside of the warrior code but also in groups," mewed Foxshadow, whiskers twitching. "I was a loner, a cat who wonders alone in the wider world, but I was special since I originally trained as an apprentice of SkyClan. My father was Thunderbird, the former deputy, and my mother was Shadowfall, a former rogue." She sounded like she was reciting a story she had heard rather than telling Tawnypaw about her life. As if realizing this herself, Foxshadow looked sharply down at her. "But I prefer not to talk about them. Maybe you'd like to hear another story? I can tell you a terrible story about how the Clans you know made a poor decision which cost another Clan their home and life. Or I can tell you a story about Brokenstar and how he gathered a group of rogues from BloodClan to become a new Clan so he could gain a new set of nine lives from the dark forest, but I think you've heard that one before."

Neither of those sounded like good stories. She remembered hearing of BloodClan before, though, and her curiosity was perked. "Can you tell me about BloodClan?"

Foxshadow looked troubled. "Are you sure you want to hear my story of BloodClan?" she asked. "It starts with something your father did when he was still an apprentice. It doesn't paint him in a good light."

 _When has anyone ever painted him in a good light?_ Tawnypaw wondered. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Very well," meowed Foxshadow, before launching into the story. "When Tigerclaw was an apprentice under Thistleclaw, one of the most bloodthirsty cats in ThunderClan at the time, he and his mentor and Bluestar, then Bluefur, were sent to patrol the border we have with twolegplace. There, he ran into a kittypet's kit named Tiny, a very small black tom with one white forepaw. Tigerpaw attacked Tiny while his mentor watched, but was stopped from killing him when Bluestar arrived, who was then just a warrior named Bluefur. Tiny fled into twolegplace, and Tigerpaw declared triumphantly that Tiny would never forget him. He never did.

"At first, Tiny wants to return to his twoleg home, but then he remembers what happens to kits in twoleg homes once he reaches a certain age. As he travels and a season passes, every cat he meets along the way mistakes him for a kittypet and taunts him about the life he should be living; a cozy warm life with food and water aplenty. He does not understand why any cat would assume he was a kittypet since he has lived on the streets for a long time. He finally meets a kind old she-cat, and she explains to him that his collar marks him as a kittypet. Tiny realizes that the only way other cats can respect him is if he gets rid of his twoleg collar.

"He tries everything he can think of, but nothing works. Not even the old she-cat he befriended can get it off him." Foxshadow paused, and blinked. "I could have gotten the collar off myself, but this was seasons before my time." She licked her chest. "Anyway, Tiny became quickly frustrated with his efforts. He couldn't stand how the other cats disrespected him, and started looking for new ways to gain their respect. He heard about an annoying old dog who lived in a back alley and used to kill cats for fun, and decided that he must do something about this dog. He asked the old she-cat for directions to the back alley and, despite being told countless times that the dog would kill him, Tiny sought him out and eventually he found it on his own.

"The back alley was a dark and twisted place. It was the space between two twoleg nests with no barkwalls, but crisscrossed with metal trees that were thin and unnervingly straight and that held up metal branches as flat as the thunderpath. Cats like you and me could walk across without fear of falling. Under the branches and tied to a tiny twoleg nest that was his home was the dog. It was old and graying around the muzzle, with many teeth missing, but a hungry gleam in its cloudy eye. It smelled cats long before they showed up and silently crept upon them and anything else that scurried in the dark alley, including rats, and it bit them. The scent of death and decay clung to everything, even the dog's breath, but not a single body could be found. Not even bones or a scrap of fur.

"Tiny knew he was close from the smell alone. He cautiously entered the space between two twoleg nests, ears peeled and eyes scanning the darkness around him. His collar jingled quietly around his neck with every step he took. His heart pounded in his ears but he walked with determination, following the smell. When he turned a corner, he found himself staring into the nest of the dog. It had not yet heard him. His collar jingled as he padded cautiously around, his eyes scanning high above for a perch he could use to study his enemy. He climbed up a hollow thin metal tree, his claws clattering against the ice cold metal, and landed on the stone branches. Below him, the dog stirred.

"It rose onto its paws stiffly and swept its head this way and that. It smelled him and padded towards the metal tree Tiny had climbed. Tiny watched it, his heart hammering his chest. He looked around and found a plant in a clay pot, and he waited for the dog to start heading back towards its nest. When it was under the potted plant, Tiny yowled loudly so that it looked up, and he shoved the potted plant off the metal branch. It fell on the snarling dog and smashed into his skull, scattering remains of the pot everywhere. When Tiny scrambled down to kill the dog, he found that it was already dead. He clawed it up and left his scent on the dog for all to smell. He took the dog's teeth and jammed them into the holes in his collar, and he took the claws and put them on his own claws, before sharpening them. Then, he slept in the dog's nest.

"Other cats came to test their claws against the terrible dog only to find that it was dead and decaying. Tiny was there, and he told them that his name was Scourge and that he had killed the dog. To prove his word, he fought and slashed open some of their throats and bellies with his sharpened dog-claws. Rumors of his accomplishments began to spread rapidly and many came to join him in the hopes of learning how to be as awesome as him. Soon, he was building his own Clan. He decided to call this Clan BloodClan, to remind himself of the promise he made to spill Clan blood. Over time, his Clan slowly began to take over the entire twolegplace, until no cat was safe walking the streets without him hearing about it - and no Clan cat too proud to say he was anything else that enters there ever comes back out alive."

When Foxshadow fell silent, Tawnypaw shuddered. She heard from the senior warriors that the twolegplaces were as big as all the four territories put together, but were like a maze. Unless you knew the ins and outs of a twolegplace, you would be lost in one for a very long time before you could escape. She imaged one that had dangerous Clan cat killers wandering around and wondered how Foxshadow and her family managed to escape. If they managed to escape.

"But," Foxshadow continued, "as Scourge reigned over BloodClan in the seasons to follow, prey and space became scarcer and scarcer. Cats who would originally go to him to solve their problems started to leave twolegplace in the hopes of finding more space. Many more began abandoning BloodClan. Queens, who are not feed by warriors like here in the Clans, left their homes in twolegplace and looked for twolegs to adopt them so they could give birth to their kits and not have to hunt for food. Fighters and hunters took the knowledge that Scourge had given them with them as they fled into the forests, hoping for new territory and prey rich lands that they could own. They ran right into Brokenstar, who accepted them into his Clan once he learned how vicious and powerful they all were.

"However, there are problems with what Brokenstar did. As you well know, when he was defeated at Fourtrees, most of DarkClan fled. They still have not returned. Most of them were former BloodClan cats. This is because BloodClan cats follow a strong leader, and they cannot function without one. They do not understand nor respect the concept of deputies nor do they feel a sense of duty to stick around when leaders change. They have no loyalty to the Clan itself, only the leaders in charge of them."

Tawnypaw lashed her tail angrily. "Cowards."

Foxshadow's whiskers twitched. "No, not cowards. They simply do not and cannot understand." She ruffled the moss with a swish of her tail. "They were raised to have loyalty only to themselves, like all loners and rogues learn to do. And, of course, those with direct control over them who they depend on. When they can no longer depend on you, they leave. Of course, there are some cats who have loyalty only to the whims of their own emotions."

Tawnypaw knew right away who Foxshadow was thinking about. No one talked about him anymore, except Fireheart. Graystripe, the one who had mated with a RiverClan she-cat and was banished from ThunderClan because of it. Graystripe, the traitor. All she really knew of what happened during his banishment was that Fireheart blamed Foxshadow for Graystripe being in RiverClan instead of ThunderClan. She touched Foxshadow's shoulder with her nose, unable to reach her ear. "I'm sure Graystripe is still loyal to ThunderClan."

The massive she-cat blinked at her. "If that was true, why would he have picked his RiverClan kin over his ThunderClan kin?"

Her glowing sun-gold eyes glared with a different meaning; _Why are you still loyal to Darkpaw when he's in another Clan?_ Tawnypaw was unnerved. She looked away, troubled.

"Why would Tigerclaw have killed Redtail and tried to kill Bluestar?" Foxshadow continued. "Why would Darkpaw have tricked Cloudpaw into leading him and several other apprentices to their doom?"

Tawnypaw bristled. "Darkpaw never wanted to harm ThunderClan!" she meowed defensively.

Foxshadow looked at her sharply. "You of all cats should know better," she half-growled, startling Tawnypaw. "You saw him challenge Cloudpaw to do it. You even admitted to it. If he did not want to harm ThunderClan, why would he have done that?"

 _"I don't understand what you're trying to do," Tawnypaw had meowed. "If we attacked the dogs, we're all bound to get ourselves killed."_

 _"Not so fast," Darkpaw had meowed soothingly. "If we need to escape the dogs, we can all just climb trees. They can't climb like we can."_

 _"Yes, but..." Tawnypaw trailed off. She couldn't imagine a scenario where they would win._

 _"It's going to be fine," Darkpaw promised._

Tawnypaw lashed her tail, fur prickling in uncertainty. _Darkpaw truly believed nothing would go wrong. He can't have gotten them killed on purpose._ She lifted her head and set her jaw stubbornly. "He didn't mean to."

Foxshadow stood, looking almost angry. She seemed to struggle to control herself. "A warrior must know all the consequences of their actions before committing themselves to a course." She lashed her tail. "Besides, Darkpaw knows whether or not he meant to do it. So, why don't you ask him for yourself?" she meowed, her voice lowered meaningfully in her anger. "But I doubt he'd tell even _you_ the truth."

Stung, Tawnypaw lashed her tail and rose. "Maybe I will," Tawnypaw meowed. "I _know_ he'd tell me the truth!" Even as she said it, her mind whirled. Would she really leave the Clan to speak with Darkpaw? After everything that had happened? Maybe she would. Right now, she felt like she would do it just to prove Foxshadow wrong.

The queen turned away and returned to her squirrel. "Go ahead. No one is stopping you."

Fur bristling, Tawnypaw padded out of the nursery. Dusk had finally settled over the Clan, covering the camp in long dark shadows. It was unnerving. She could almost imagine she was in the dark alley and hear the pounding of her own heart as a yowl split the air and the dog took notice of her. How could any cat take on one bloodthirsty dog all by themselves? It reminded her of the dogs snapping at her from the base of the tree, with no one around to help her. She remembered wanting to wail in anguish as her brother bled out, helpless to save him. She wished she could be as smart as Scourge and drop a plant on their heads, or be as brave as Runningwind and Swiftwind and chase them away. She felt even worse now.

 _Patchpelt's wrong_ , she thought, flattening her ears and lowering her tail. _I'll never be a warrior._

She padded out of the camp, and caught a strange cat-scent on the air. There was an underlying smell of distant meadows that didn't smell like any Clan she could remember. Despite that, the smell was very familiar, like a scent she had long forgotten. Her thoughts turned to Tigerclaw, and she remembered the duty she had to her Clan. Since it wasn't dark yet, she decided to wait a bit before going.

A ginger head appeared in front of her. "Tawnypaw!" meowed Fireheart. "Shouldn't you be protecting the nursery? Everyone else is already there!"

Fur ruffled at being reminded of things she already knew, Tawnypaw dipped her head to the new deputy and padded towards the spot. She couldn't help but be suddenly angry at him.

At first, most of the Clan had been a little bit unhappy to hear that Fireheart would be replacing the best warrior of ThunderClan as deputy, but they seemed a little more welcoming towards the former kittypet once they learned it was with Foxshadow's approval. Only Sandstorm, Ravenfeather, Cinderheart, and Brackenfur had been behind Fireheart from the start, and Tawnypaw suspected Brackenfur and Ravenfeather supported the decision because Foxshadow did, while Cinderheart did because she was once his former apprentice and Sandstorm did because they were mates. If not for that, Tawnypaw suspected Fireheart would never have been accepted as a deputy of ThunderClan. She was sure that Darkpaw would have a lot to say about the choice, and she wished he was here to voice his concerns.

But he wasn't here.

 _Maybe I_ should _visit him,_ she thought to herself. _He'll want to know what happened._

 _But he's not a member of ThunderClan anymore,_ a part of her reasoned. _I can't share ThunderClan secrets with him._

Could she really betray ThunderClan? The jagged cliff of the ravine pressed against her side as she squeezed between it and the camp barrier to the opposite side. She looked around, unable to recognize anything except two other apprentices. Cloudpaw noticed her first, lifting his head slightly from where he was sitting and frowning, his whiskers drooping unhappily. Ashpaw turned to face her, and his eyes brightened.

"Tawnypaw!" the spotted gray tom greeted, padding quickly towards her. "I'm so glad I'm not left alone with this kittypet!"

The pale tortoiseshell gave him a half-confused stare. "What are you talking about?" She looked over at Cloudpaw, who was bristled, his long fluffy fur giving away his irritation.

"You know; Cloudpaw, the nephew of that kittypet?" Ashpaw meowed, with a flick of his ears. "Everyone knows that."

"Cloudpaw isn't a kittypet," Tawnypaw meowed, incredulous. "He's never even been in a twoleg house. His mother was a loner who died near the Thunderpath, and he was adopted by Foxshadow."

" _Because_ his _real_ mother was _sister_ to Fireheart," Ashpaw meowed, as if talking to a kit, "the kittypet."

Suddenly, Tawnypaw could understand why Patchpelt and the others would get angry with Ashpaw all the time. Feeling more than a little insulted, Tawnypaw snarled at him. "Cloudpaw is my _cousin_ , Ashpaw, and Fireheart is my Uncle. Are you going to say that because _I'm_ related to Tigerclaw _and_ Fireheart that _I'm_ also a kittypet and a traitor?"

Ashpaw opened his mouth to object but Tawnypaw was too furious, shoulder checking the infuriating tom as she joined Cloudpaw. Quickly recovering, Ashpaw made a noise of contempt and glared down at them both. "Whatever, kittypets," he half-growled. "I'm going _hunting."_

Cloudpaw rose to his paws to object, but Ashpaw was already gone. He clawed the ground. "Well, I'm going to tell Fireheart that he abandoned his post."

Tawnypaw opened her mouth to call Cloudpaw a tattletale, but then remembered what Foxshadow had said about what they should have done instead of going along with the rest of the apprentices. If someone did something wrong, they were to be reported. Besides, Ashpaw's display had proved he deserved it.

"No wonder Patchpelt hates him," she meowed instead. "He is _such_ a mousebrain!"

The white tom glanced at her and sat down with a sigh. "It can't be helped," he meowed, before dipping his head. "Thank you."

"He didn't used to be like this," she meowed. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

Cloudpaw lashed his tail. "It doesn't matter," he meowed. "He's made his nest, and he can sleep in it."

At that, Tawnypaw nodded in agreement. Whatever happened, whatever had happened, they all had to face the consequences of it. Eaglepaw and Beepaw deserved that much at least. Guilt gnawed at her belly, and she wished she was out hunting with Ashpaw to distract herself from it, but her duty kept her rooted to the spot. She glanced up when the moon reached it's zenith. It was only a quarter moon before the next Gathering, and she wondered if she would see Darkpaw there.

"What's that sound?" asked Cloudpaw, ears perked.

Tawnypaw had been so distracted that she had completely missed it. She followed Cloudpaw's gaze to the line of bushes running the base of the ravine and sniffed the air, detecting the same cat-scent of meadows and familiarity she had before. "Who's there?" she challenged, before realizing that it could only have been her father. Her tail twitched nervously.

A massive black-and-brown tabby stepped out of the bushes, fur relaxed. Tawnypaw immediately recognized him. He looked almost exactly like Brambleclaw, but his stripes were black and the brown base more of a brown-gray than Brambleclaw's pure brown. The family resemblance was unmistakable; the broad shoulders, amber eyes, and, of course, the long claws.

"Hello, daughter," he meowed, blinking at Cloudpaw. "Hello, nephew."

* * *

 **A/N: This is the first of three to four chapters featuring Tawnypaw's POV! Not sure yet if it will actually match the novella title of "Tawnypaw's Innocence" but we shall see.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	68. Tawnypaw's Guilt pt 2 (ADP 5-2)

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys, I've been suffering a bit of writers block, so pushing through with this chapter was absolutely agonizing. Hope you guys enjoy it! (Also, I wanted to mention this because a lot of people were very confused last chapter when Cloudpaw and Tawnypaw claimed to be related - that is a lie that Foxshadow spun so the Clan would more easily swallow Fireheart joining the Clan! Fireheart and Tigerclaw are not related to each other, but as far as the Clan knows, Fireheart is Tigerclaw's half-sister's kit. Aka, Tigerclaw is Fireheart's Uncle! ALSO, also, a lot of people were upset that Ashfur was being evilz too early. This is mostly due to Darkpaw's influence on him. So, blame Darkbutt for it.)  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Well, you can blame Darkpaw for that. Though, I have to admit that I've always had a problem with Ashfur. Before his brain broke, he never actually had prior moments of doucheyness/evilness. He was actually a very nice character before he went off the deep end because of "loving too much" (which is never a good excuse to betray your leader and try to murder your ex-girlfriend's sister's babies, btw). He had no build up to going off the rails and wasn't really evil up until he went crazy due to contrivances. So, instead of doing that nonsense, I decided to start his evil act early so that he is more likely to correct his behavior in the future and deserve that happily ever after in StarClan which he got in canon.  
**

 **AnonChan1: It's very sad that you've lost interest in my story, since I've so enjoyed your reviews but I guess that's how the wind blows. Thank you so much for a wonderful year! :)**

 **BraveSeeker3: Ffnet hates Links and are jumping through hoops to get them destroyed.  
**

 **Spottedsky1234: Hello again! (1) Oh, he definitely would! Tigerclaw's the kind of cat who would turn a bad situation into one that might benefit him. He's not 100% perfect at it but he's really good when he wants to be. (2) Ah, no! That's one of Foxshadow's lies. (3) That Scourge story is so good that - oh, wait, that would be spoilery. :D (4) That would be... really interesting. Especially that since Foxshadow and Tigerclaw are going to be seeing each other again the moment he dies. Woo, that will be an awkward meeting, with much regrets. (5) To be revealed... when I stop being a dodo brain about it and actually finish Tawnypaw's Innocence. *smashes keys in frustration* So, don't worry, you haven't missed an update. (6) Turn back into a human? She never really "turned" into a cat. She's stuck in a dream - a catatonic dream, never to awaken. She can't turn into a human or back into a human. (7) And this question is never answered because I suck! But let's just say that Brambleclaw's and Tawnypaw's relationship are about to get way worse.**

 **Lightningfire star:** ** **(1) Thank you so much! (2)** Will this work? Hopefully it does! Ffnet hates . in usernames. It thinks they're links or something. (3) Np! I love talking to my reviewers! (4) Thank you! (5) That is the plan! (6) Who knows!? Only Pinestar himself, and I don't think he's even in StarClan. (7) He was badly injured and escaped a wrathful Foxshadow onto WindClan territory, where he is staying until he is healed up enough to journey back to ThunderClan - at least that's the current plan. Darkpaw might have other ideas, though.**

 **SierraStanley52: Let the shipping commence!  
**

 **Shadowmist of ShadowClan: The basic lie that Foxshadow told is this; Tigerclaw and Fireheart are both descendents of Pinestar. Fireheart is his grandson through Nutmeg, while Tigerclaw is his son. This makes Fireheart and Tigerclaw "brothers" in the sense that they are "sons" of Pinestar. Technically, if Foxshadow's lie was true, Fireheart is Tigerclaw's nephew and Cloudpaw is a first cousin. But the Clan treats them as brothers because I'm a terrible person who forgot that, in Foxy's lie, Fireheart was supposed to be Pinestar's grandson and I got him confused with Jake, so I kept saying Fireheart is his brother. Ugh, I am dumb! Anyway, Tawnypaw thinks of Cloudpaw as her cousin, and she's not exactly entirely wrong.  
**

 **Catlover49: Glad you like it!  
**

 **Blazefeather44: Thank you so much! I think your old guest name got swallowed up by ffnet but that's okay because I know who you are anyway! Thanks for the follow and fav dude!  
**

 **littlrr: Hm, I'll be having his POV return before the end of the series, so maybe I can redeem him then. (Well, that's my current plan but we shall see if I remember or if the story lets me, goshdarnit!)  
**

* * *

"Look at how much you both have grown..." Tigerclaw meowed calmly, his fur flat and eyes relaxed. Tawnypaw thought she heard warmth in his voice and wondered if he had come back because he had missed her and her brothers. With a tiny sigh of relief, she relaxed. Of course, Tigerclaw wouldn't harm his kin.

Looking disturbed, Cloudpaw quickly covered it up, bristling and hissing. "You're not welcome on ThunderClan territory, traitor."

"I had to come," he meowed earnestly, gazing at her. "I was _worried_ about you both. I smelled a lot of dogs outside ThunderClan territory and it led me to the border. I wondered if anything had happened to you."

Warmth blossomed in Tawnypaw's chest and she opened her mouth to respond, but Cloudpaw beat her to it.

"If you cared so much, you wouldn't have become a traitor."

"I only did what I had to so I could protect ThunderClan from traitors, but they got to me first." Tigerclaw's lip curled slightly. "I wasn't able to stop them from poisoning the minds of ThunderClan against me."

Confused, Tawnypaw looked at Cloudpaw, but the white tom's expression was angry and hard. She couldn't help but wonder if Cloudpaw was one of the minds Tigerclaw told them had been poisoned against him.

"But that doesn't matter anymore," Tigerclaw meowed smoothly, "you're here now and you're safe. I am glad the dogs did not get you both."

Tawnypaw couldn't help but feel warm knowing that her father had been worried about her, but then she remembered her dead brothers and felt sorry he hadn't been here when the dogs attacked. He was a powerful warrior and probably could have helped to protect them from the dogs.

Cloudpaw hissed at him. "Why did you tear a hole in the back of the nursery?"

The black-and-brown tabby paused. "I had to get ThunderClan's attention somehow," he reasoned, looking to Tawnypaw with wide eyes. "I wanted to meet you. It's been a long time since I've been a member of ThunderClan, and I never once visited the nursery then because I was so busy being deputy. I wanted to see how my kits were doing."

Tawnypaw's stomach flip-flopped, and she looked at her paws in sorrow. "Beepaw and Eaglepaw are dead. They were killed by the dogs."

"Tawnypaw!" Cloudpaw sounded shocked.

Since her head was bowed, she missed an expression of guilt and horror flash across Tigerclaw's face. Cloudpaw did not.

"It's _your_ fault that the dogs were even on our territory, isn't it!?" Cloudpaw spat, claws shredding the ground and tail lashing angrily. "I can't believe _Darkpaw_ spoke the truth for once in his miserable life!"

Tawnypaw's eyes snapped to Cloudpaw. "How can you say that?" she meowed. "Tigerclaw came here to check on us!"

"How would he have known that it would us that were put on guard duty behind the nursery? He's here only to kill Foxshadow and her kits!" Cloudpaw glared at the much larger tom. "This whole situation stinks worse than a polecat!"

"Cloudpaw," Tawnypaw tried to say, but Cloudpaw pounced at Tigerclaw. " _Cloudpaw_!"

The older loner easily stepped aside and knocked the fluffy white tom out of the air, before pinning him and pressing his claws into the apprentice's neck.

"Don't hurt him," Tawnypaw meowed, furs spiked in sudden dread.

"I won't," Tigerclaw assured her. "He's my nephew. I don't kill my kin." The large tom's eyes had narrowed and his gaze slid to her, tail-tip twitching. "So, you're both still _apprentices_? ThunderClan thought that they could defend the nursery against a former deputy with _two_ apprentices?"

Tawnypaw hesitated. Tigerclaw didn't know about Ashpaw? She pushed the flicker of doubt aside. Of course he couldn't know. He hadn't been in contact with anyone in ThunderClan for moons.

 _Then how'd he know about you?_ whispered a tiny voice in her mind.

Cloudpaw growled. "Let me up and I'll show you what this apprentice can do!"

Tigerclaw ignored him. "Why are you both still apprentices? You should be warriors by now."

Shame filled her as she remembered her mentor, Brightface, forced to train one of the apprentices responsible for her grevious injury, and she looked away from Tigerclaw's curious gaze. "Our warrior ceremonies were delayed after the dog attack."

An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them.

"What about your brother?" Tigerclaw's claws flexed in a desire to rip up dirt, causing Cloudpaw to shift and protest.

"Brambleclaw is a warrior now," meowed Tawnypaw.

"And you're _not_?" Tigerclaw hissed, sounding as furious as Tawnypaw felt. "Why?"

"Our apprentice ceremony was delayed because of the dog attack."

"You were injured?"

Tawnypaw shook her head quickly. "I'm okay."

"But Beepaw and Eaglepaw are not," Tigerclaw hissed. "It's not safe for my kin in ThunderClan, it seems. You should both come with me. I can teach you how to be real warriors."

The thought of racing through the forest with her father, fighting enemy warriors and hunting rabbits for her father flashed through her mind. No Brightheart to disappoint, no Clanmates judging her behind her back, but also no ThunderClan. Her thoughts turned to Darkpaw, however, and she remembered who she was talking to.

"Tigerclaw," she asked nervously, "why did you attack Darkpaw?"

Tigerclaw blinked in confusion. "Who is Darkpaw?"

Relief flooded through her, followed by confusion. She felt like her whole world was on the verge of shattering.

"I have no reason to attack a ThunderClan apprentice," meowed Tigerclaw calmly, lowering his head and voice, "unless they attacked me first."

But Tawnypaw's thoughts were elsewhere. "So, if you didn't attack Darkpaw, then who did?"

Tigerclaw shrugged. "I only came for my kin," he meowed firmly, with a pointed glance at Cloudpaw.

She remembered all the stories that Darkpaw had told her about her father, how he idolized him. "Darkpaw's father told Darkpaw tons of stories about you."

Tigerclaw flicked an ear at that. "Who was his father?"

"Darkstripe," meowed Tawnypaw.

Tigerclaw froze, his eyes sparking with intrige. "Really? I wasn't aware that Darkstripe was able to talk to anyone."

There was some hidden meaning behind his words that Tawnypaw couldn't understand. Cloudpaw, however, scattered her thoughts when he meowed loudly. "Are you both mousebrained? Darkpaw _couldn't_ have spoken with his father because his father was dead before he was even kitted!"

But Tawnypaw could tell from Tigerclaw's expression that what Cloudpaw wasn't necessarily true. Suddenly, Tawnypaw wanted to know everything that Tigerclaw knew about Darkstripe.

"I'll come with you," she meowed.

"What!" Cloudpaw looked betrayed. "He's a _traitor_ , a loner, and a trespasser!"

"Maybe he isn't," meowed Tawnypaw. "Everyone says he attacked Darkpaw, but he's never even heard of Darkpaw."

"He could be _lying_ ," growled Cloudpaw. "If you leave, you might never be able to come back! The Clan will never trust you again!"

"They don't trust me now," Tawnypaw snapped, lashing her tail. "Besides, I'm just a reminder of what my mentor has lost. I can't stay a member of ThunderClan. I have to go."

Tigerclaw nodded. "I'm glad to hear it." He twitched his whiskers at Cloudpaw. "We should leave now."

"Okay." Tawnypaw glanced at Cloudpaw. "Sorry, Cloudpaw."

The white tom glared at them both, fur fluffed up. Tigerclaw stepped off him and he jumped away, yowling at the top of his lungs. "TIGERCLAW IS BEHIND THE NURSERY!"

Tigerclaw slashed at the tom, but the small tom leaped away unharmed. Hissing, Tigerclaw turned and fled up the ravine. A heartbeat later, Tawnypaw bolted after him, not wanting to lose her father in the rush.

He raced to the end of the ravine and up the slope, following the barkwall and continued down a pebbly path between two barkwalls. Her paws scraped against the harsh stones, and she wondered if her paws were bleeding. The worry and pain forced her to slow down. She was forced to hug the right wall, using the sparce grass to help protect her paw pads. She saw Tigerclaw cut across to the otherside of the path and disappear up a short slope under a line of strange bushes parrallel to the twolegnest's front wall. She bolted after him, wincing as her paws cut on the stone, and joined him under the bush, heart pounding.

Her father stiffened and turned to look at her, blinking and relaxing. "So, you managed to keep up."

"Of course," Tawnypaw meowed, puffing out her fur and trying to hide her pants. "Where are we?"

"Twolegplace," the older tabby meowed, with a glance outside. He looked down at his daughter thoughtfully. "I'm glad you came with me. It has been lonely out here without any of my kin around."

Tawnypaw purred and pressed into her father's side, who stiffened.

"Why don't you tell me more about what happened while I was gone?" he asked.

She hesitated, remembering that Tigerclaw was a loner and no longer a member of ThunderClan. But neither was she. She wondered if she could get in trouble with StarClan for telling him their secrets now. Especially one where she was responsible for what happened to her brothers.

"Uhm," she began, struggling to think of what to say. "Well, the dogs attacked a patrol. Most of our apprentices died and some of our warriors were killed or injured."

"Warriors?" Tigerclaw's eyes flashed.

"Runningwind and Swiftwind are dead," meowed Tawnypaw, a stab of guilt flashing through her, an image of them racing by underneath her tree flashing through her mind. She shuddered. "Brightface, Cinderheart and Thornclaw were injured."

Tigerclaw's tail-tip twitched impatiently but his was voice was calm and soft. "What happened to Darkpaw?"

"He was attacked a day later, near our border with Fourtrees, but I guess he fled into WindClan." Tawnypaw bounced on her paws, furious at the injustice of everything. "He told everyone that you were the one who attacked him and gave him those terrible wounds! And everyone believed him."

"Except you," he purred. "I'm so fortunate to have a loyal daughter."

Tawnypaw purred and headbutted her father affectionately.

"Is Darkpaw still in WindClan?" Tigerclaw asked.

"Yes, he's in their medicine cat den, and he's still recovering after the attack."

The broad shouldered loner nodded and gestured with his tail for her to follow. They padded with the closest twolegnests on their left and the nearest thunderpath running beside them on their right. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but open hills.

She felt like she was on the moor, since there were hardly any trees. Some of the houses had short white walls in front of them, like the ones around treecutplace. She found it strange that they all were sprouting out of black soil in an outline of reddish rocks, and wondered if the black soil would spread if she removed the rocks. She had no time to stop and find out, as her father kept a quick pace.

Despite her worry for her friend, she was glad to be with her father. Tawnypaw felt like she had entered a whole new world, and she felt she would have been lost without her father there.

Eventually, the thunderpath on their right merged with another thunderpath which cut right in front of them. She wondered if thunderpaths were like rivers, but much slower and made out of some kind of thick black soil. When they padded up to the Thunderpath and turned to the left and follow it out of the twolegplace, Tawnypaw hopped onto the path, but she couldn't feel the thunderpath shifted underneath her like a slow moving river. Disappointed, she padded off, hurrying to catch up to Tigerclaw.

It was then she recognized the scent markings on the border. Somehow, they had ended up on the border between ThunderClan and ShadowClan, with the thunderpath dividing the two territories. They were headed towards Fourtrees.

"Do you live near Fourtrees?" she asked.

After the words left her mouth, she was suddenly aware of the silence between them. Was she not supposed to speak?

"Quiet," meowed Tigerclaw. "We are surrounded by our enemies."

Tawnypaw opened her mouth to protest but remembered she wasn't a ThunderClan cat anymore. It was so easy to forget that. Instead, she fell silent and padded behind Tigerclaw, her gaze drifting over the border, trying to identify the landmarks through the trees. She knew they were passing Lion's Trap but it was too far away for her to see. She hoped to be able to see Snakerocks, but that also might be too far away from the border to see. Her heart sank as they passed it, knowing it was there but no longer being able to rush over to see it.

They reached the neutral territory surrounding Fourtrees. Tigerclaw lead her into a fox den, where the scent had long since grown stale. A couple of mintleafs were covering the ground, along with a nest of moss, disguising any scent of Tigerclaw.

"Have you been living here this entire time?" Tawnypaw asked, glancing towards the entrance. It was so near the border and, though the entrance was out of the way, it would only take a keen-eyed warrior walking down the right path to see it.

"Every once and a while," Tigerclaw meowed with a shrug. "We'll rest here until morning."

Tawnypaw realized that she hadn't slept since sunhigh. Even though she didn't feel tired, she settled down beside her father in his nest. His shoulders still felt tense but he laid his head down and closed his eyes. Tawnypaw closed her eyes, but it was a long time before she fell asleep.

When she awoke, it was well passed dawn. Not used to sleeping outside of the camp, she took a while to remember where she was and then she realized that Tigerclaw was gone. Her heart started pounding in fear. Had her father abandoned her? She padded out of the den.

Tigerclaw was carrying a squirrel in his jaws. He looked at her curiously and settled down outside of the den to eat. "Come eat with me," he meowed. "It'll be the first of many meals we have together."

His voice didn't sound warm, though. Tawnypaw wondered if he had a hard time expressing emotions. "Thanks, father." It felt good to call him 'father'. She dipped her head respectfully and flopped down to eat, pressing into her father's stiff shoulder.

When she had finished, Tigerclaw rose to his paws and licked the blood from his claws. "Have you met your half-siblings before?"

Tawnypaw looked confused. "I have half-siblings?"

"Foxshadow never told you?" Tigerclaw sounded surprised and angry. "Tawnypaw, your mother isn't the only she-cat I had kits with. There were two others."

Stunned, Tawnypaw blinked, feeling a tiny bit betrayed at this news, before reminding herself that Tigerclaw had been away for moons so he'd obviously have kits outside of the Clan.

But then, how would Foxshadow know about them?

"You can meet them if you want," meowed Tigerclaw. "I will be meeting them at sunhigh today, and I'm sure they won't mind you coming along with me."

Tawnypaw wasn't so sure she wanted to meet them but nodded anyway. When it came down to it, she couldn't deny his family because they were her family, too. "Sure." That didn't make her feel any less uncertain about it.

"They're nearby," meowed Tigerclaw, gesturing with his tail for her to follow before padded west across neutral territory.

Tawnypaw knew right away that they were headed towards RiverClan territory. Her fur started to stand on end as she wondered if RiverClan had been secretly hiding Tigerclaw this entire time. Why would they harbor the cat that had killed their former leader's brother and current leader's father?

She was relieved when they stopped beside the border, hiding behind some bushes that were within sight of the RiverClan camp. She glanced around nervously, hoping that a patrol wouldn't pass them by anytime soon. She almost missed the golden spotted head and ears that were headed their direction, a smaller dark brown tabby face behind her. A tabby which was almost as old as her brother. Tawnypaw felt her hopes dash on the shores where Leopardfur and the apprentice emerged, along with two other apprentices.

"Tigerclaw," meowed Leopardfur, almost as stiff as Tigerclaw himself. He gaze landed on Tawnypaw. "What is this ThunderClan apprentice doing here?"

"She is no longer a ThunderClan apprentice," Tigerclaw meowed. "She is my daughter, and she is coming with me."

Leopardfur frowned at Tawnypaw, disgust and disappointment flashing through her eyes. Tawnypaw felt her fur rise defensively but the former deputy of RiverClan ignored her. "I brought your sons," she meowed. "You can talk to them."

"What about Mothpaw?" Tigerclaw asked, sounding curious.

"She wants to become a medicine cat," meowed Leopardfur, whiskers twitching. "Since our Clan has gotten so large, we could use an extra medicine cat apprentice for when Mudfur passes."

Tigerclaw flicked his ears and frowned in disapproval but nodded anyway, turning to his three sons. "Frogpaw, Toadpaw, Hawkpaw, it's good to see you again. I would like to introduce you to your half-sister, Tawnypaw. Tawnypaw, these are your half-brothers."

"They're almost as old as I am," Tawnypaw meowed in disbelief, feeling a bit lightheaded and not in a good way. Even if her father hadn't killed the former deputy, he had a relationship outside of the Clan with RiverClan's former deputy. In how many ways did her father break the warrior code and did this mean he could have also killed the former deputy, as everyone kept telling her?

"Hi, I'm Hawkpaw," meowed a dark brown tabby tom with dark blue eyes. He pointed his tail at a dark brown tom with amber eyes. "This is Toadpaw." Then he gestured at a dark brown spotted tabby with green eyes. "And this is Frogpaw."

While the other two hung back, Toadpaw padded up to touch noses with her. "Did you really leave ThunderClan to join our father?" His eyes blinked innocently.

"Yes," she meowed, glancing at her father.

Tigerclaw looked over his kits. "I was going to ask you all if you wanted to do the same."

"No way," meowed Hawkpaw. "I'm going to follow the warrior code and become the deputy of RiverClan. I can't do that if I leave."

Understanding his son's ambition well, Tigerclaw nodded in approval. "Frogpaw?"

"I'll stay behind, too," meowed Frogpaw, with a sidelong glance at Hawkpaw. "Just to keep him out of trouble."

Tigerclaw looked less aproving of this but nodded.

"I'll come with you," meowed Toadpaw before confessing; "It never felt right in RiverClan for me. I don't think I really belong there. At least if I come with you, I'll be able to find out more about my father."

Leopardfur looked injured. "So, you're abandoning me and RiverClan?"

"No!" Toadpaw meowed firmly. "I just want to learn more about my father."

"You would be abandoning RiverClan," Leopardfur told him. "If you left to find out more about your father, you will never be accepted back. You'd be an outcast, a rogue."

Tawnypaw remembered what Cloudpaw had told her and felt strangely uncomfortable. Were Cloudpaw and Leopardfur seeing something she was missing? She nervously lashed her tail.

Toadpaw shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe it's not as bad as you make it out to be," he meowed, glancing at Tigerclaw for support.

"You will not be Clanless," promised Tigerclaw, with a gesture at himself and Tawnypaw. "We are a Clan."

The brown tom nodded, head high. Leopardfur flattened her ears, before letting out an angry grow. " _Fine,_ " she growled. With all the authority of a former deputy, Leopardfur swept her tail for her two other sons to follow her back into the river. "Come, Frogpaw, Hawkpaw. We need to head back before your mentors worry about you."

Hawkpaw turned and padded away, but Frogpaw padded up to touch Toadpaw's nose. "I hope you know what you're doing," he meowed quietly, with a distrustful glance towards Tawnypaw.

Tawnypaw bristled and glared at the tom until he disappeared into the river. When she looked up at Tigerclaw, he looked equally unhappy, but gestured for his kits to look at him.

"We have one more stop to make before I take you to my camp," he meowed. "Tawnypaw, can you fetch Darkpaw for me?"

The pale tortoiseshell looked surprised. "But he's in the WindClan camp! I can't go visit him now that I've left ThunderClan."

Tigerclaw gave her a confused look. "Are his injuries so serious that he cannot be moved to the ThunderClan camp?"

"Well, yes," meowed Tawnypaw, surprised that Tigerclaw could pick that up.

Tigerclaw frowned. "I need you to ask him if he has spoken with his father."

"But what am I going to tell WindClan?" she asked.

"WindClan doesn't know you've left ThunderClan," he meowed. "You are just going to visit a fellow Clanmate."

Tawnypaw opened her mouth to protest but realized that her father was right. Excitement bubbled under her fur, and she jumped to her paws. "I'll be right back then!"

The former ThunderClan apprentice turned and bolted toward WindClan territory, slowing down only as old instincts demanded she not go walking onto enemy territory. Tawnypaw stopped at the border and waited for a patrol.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, Cloudpaw's right - Tigerclaw showed up for another reason and they just so happened to be there so he decided to take advantage of the situation. Sorry, Tawnypaw, but you made the wrong choice... and I'm sorry for her being so naive! Don't worry though as she becomes way wiser by the end of this novella.**

 **Also, unfortunately, since this chapter was giving me so much trouble, I was unable to get around to writing the scene with Darkpaw, which was going to be short, but in hindsight it actually sets up the next chapter well so I'm going to post it with that chapter. I suspect that I might end up writing two chapters for next time, but hopefully I'll post it this Friday.**

 **Then, we can finally get back to Foxshadow!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	69. Tawnypaw's Guilt pt 3 (ADP 5-3)

**A/N: Now this update is long overdue. I'm so sorry it was delayed but apparently my writer's block was done chewing me up and spitting me out.  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Sasha is Sabletail and currently on a journey with Blackfoot and the rest of DarkClan. As for Hawkpaw, he has ambitions, just like his father did, and doesn't want to leave a Clan that he could eventually lead.  
**

 **Queens and Snakes: Tawnypaw is the current biggest lard in the ex-ThunderClan bucket.  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: I hope so! I hate not being able to send people normal links! What makes it worse is no one can just highlight the darn thing and copy it to the address bar. We used to be able to do it back in 2007, but no more. Dumb policies.  
**

 **Catlover49: I'm so sorry this is late! Here's a chapter!  
**

 **Blazefeather44: Sure! Just write what feels natural to you and try to make sure everything makes sense for their character motivations (it's a lot like roleplaying with new motivations)! And don't forget to have fun!  
**

 **Frost: Thank you so much!  
**

 **VinejayVinewings: That's fine! And also, you would be correct! Tigerclaw is 100% convinced Darkpaw is meeting with Darkstripe. Also, I do try to go my own pace but it seems like my own pace is a bit too fast for me, lol. Or I'm just lazy because I don't have a schedule to conform to anymore after college.  
**

 **Littlesmack: Thank you so much! This chapter and the last were actually suppose to go together, but I was taking too long and just wanted to post so it ended up two chapters. Good thing, too, because this chapter ended up 3 times as long as I was expecting.  
**

 **Marrowfrost: Thank you so much for your review! I love seeing people be inspired by my work! Hope you have fun!  
**

 **Lightningfire_star: No problem!  
**

* * *

Tawnypaw quickly disappeared into the moor, jumping like a fox through the tall grass in the hopes of spotting the WindClan cats before they saw her. The grass rippled beneath the rolling wind as a fine drizzle began to fall and the occasional thick raindrop landed on her nose. It took a lot of effort to push herself through, her broad shoulders and long fur catching too much in the grass and slowing her down. She could hardly hear anything over the rustling of the grass and the gentle sounds of rain starting to fall and nearly jumped through her fur when a cat yowled nearby.

"Halt!"

Heartbeats later, she heard the patrol start to surround her, their tabby pelts invisible against the grassy background. Inches from her nose, a fox-like catface pushed out of the wall of grass, its large fox-like ears and triangular face reminding her of Foxshadow. The light brown tabby blinked away the rain and stared at her with his amber eyes.

"Who are you? What are you doing on WindClan territory?"

Heart pounding, Tawnypaw dipped her head to the WindClan warrior. "I'm Tawnypaw from ThunderClan," she meowed, tail-tip twitching nervously. "I want to talk to Darkpaw."

The WindClan warrior narrowed his eyes and pulled his head back, disappearing into the grass. After a few silent moments in which the rain picked up, the WindClan warrior stuck his head back out. "We can't leave you in the storm," he meowed firmly. "Follow closely and don't try to run. We have you surrounded."

"I won't," Tawnypaw promised, relieved.

The WindClan warrior turned around so his tail was visible and then started into the grasses. Tawnypaw quickly followed. Since the rough and dry grass was so close together, she felt almost like it was helping to comb the water out of her fur. They reached the base of the hill where the Clan's old camp was, but turned to make their way round it, towards another hill on the territory. It was nearly impossible to see as the sky became darker, but a flash of lightning illuminated the flat top of the hill.

A cat on lookout gave a challenging yowl and the WindClan warrior from before answered it, before stopping and gesturing with his tail for her to move forward. Then, he ducked his head and shoulders and disappeared, vanishing into the earth.

Tawnypaw came up short and dipped her head, trying to copy the WindClan's move but having no idea why she needed to do. Was there a tunnel? From behind, a cat nudged her hard, and she yelped as she fell face-first into darkness. She looked up just as another flash of lightning lit the dark tunnel which seemed to slit off into three directions, two on either side that look like they went down and another in front of her which sloped slightly upwards.

The light brown tabby with amber eyes appeared at the top of the slope, looking amused. Embarrassed, Tawnypaw quickly rose to her paws just as a dark gray warrior landed on the ground beside her, his blue eyes flashing in annoyance. He pushed her forward again, and she resisted the urge to hiss at him in irritation. She followed the brown tabby into a series of tunnels, and after only a few heartbeats, she was already lost in a maze of tunnels, with only the brown tabby to lead her anywhere.

The others had vanished. She didn't even know when they had left; the pounding of the rain and the soft ground underpaw prevented her from hearing anything except her own breathing, plus the overwhelming smell of WindClan prevented her from identifying any old or new smells beyond those that were so fresh they had to be oozing from a living being.

"Wait here," ordered the brown tabby.

Her instincts screamed at her to follow the brown tabby or to try and follow her scent back out the way she had come, but the overwhelming desire to see Darkpaw again, especially since she was so close to him now, kept her rooted to the spot.

After what felt like forever, with nothing but the rain pounding on the ground a foxlength above to keep her company, Tawnypaw heard the barest sound of claws scraping into dirt. Her head whipped around and her tail fluffed up.

"Who's there?" she asked, squinting hard through the total darkness.

"You're Tawnypaw, daughter of Tigerclaw, correct?" came the calm response.

Relieved that it was a living cat, Tawnypaw relaxed and nodded. "Yes," she meowed. "Who are you?"

The cat let out a soft noise. "I am Mudclaw, deputy of WindClan. Why do you want to speak with Darkpaw?"

"I-I just want to know who really hurt him," meowed Tawnypaw.

The WindClan deputy paused. "You don't believe your father did it?"

Tawnypaw opened her mouth to explain that her father didn't even know Darkpaw existed, but stopped herself. Mudclaw would surely want to know how she knew that. Instead, she struggled to come up with an answer. "Instinct?"

He hummed to himself. Tawnypaw bristled defensively, worried that the deputy might question her further. Instead, he turned around. "Follow me."

Relieved that she was going somewhere other than the dark tunnel, Tawnypaw quickly stepped forward and tried to follow the deputy's scent. They padded through another maze of twist and turns, Tawnypaw's long whiskers brushing the walls either side of her and reminding her how close it all was. She suddenly longed for the forest, where she could actually see the sun high above her and the ground in front of her, even in the darkest of nights.

When the deputy stopped, Tawnypaw ran headlong into him and yelped, backing up with a rushed apology. Mudclaw's tail flicked against her paws, and the tom gave a muffled amused purr, which only made her long for the surface all the more.

"Darkpaw," he said, "there's a ThunderClan apprentice here to see you."

"Darkpaw?" Tawnypaw padded around the deputy tentatively, feeling blind.

"Tawnypaw?" game the reply, sounding half-tired. He quickly perked up. "What are you doing here?"

Tawnypaw let out a purr and pushed toward the sound of her friend, under her paws brushed against his and she could feel his familiar breath on her whiskers. "I came to see you!" she meowed loudly, purring. "I was worried about you! I've heard... things."

"Deadstar will visit you both shortly, so I suggest you make it quick," meowed Mudclaw, before his scent became staler and the sound of his claws in dirt disappeared.

Darkpaw suddenly whispered into her ear. "What kind of things?"

The pale tortoiseshell quickly walked around to Darkpaw's healthy side, pressing lightly into his shoulder and letting out a relieved sigh. She missed the days when they were apprentices, and all she had to worry about was whether or not her best friend was going to end up doing even more chores the next day.

After giving his shoulder a few licks and feeling him start to relax even more, she meowed quietly to him. "Tigerclaw showed up again," she meowed. "He clawed up the back of the nursery in that spot where they used to have a second entrance, before Foxshadow chased him off. Me, Cloudpaw, and Ashpaw were assigned to defend it, but Ashpaw ran off to go hunting after he got mad at me for siding with Cloudpaw, but only because he thinks he's a kittypet. That's when Tigerclaw showed up again."

Tawnypaw paused, not wanting to explaining the rest. Suddenly, telling Darkpaw that she had abandoned ThunderClan just to escape the guilt of what happened didn't sound like it was going to go over well.

 _But I didn't leave just because of that_ , she thought to herself, scowling, _I left to see if Darkpaw was telling the truth and if Tigerclaw really is as evil as they say._

Darkpaw shifted beside her and touched his nose to her cheek so she knew he was there. "That sounds terrible," he meowed. "I n-never though he'd go after kits."

Tawnypaw sighed. "Foxshadow said he once fought a kittypet kitten as an apprentice and nearly killed it before Bluestar – then a warrior – stopped him and chased it from the territory."

The black tabby fell silent. "I never knew," he meowed quietly.

Tawnypaw could imagine him flattening his ears and lowering his head in sorrow. A tiny whine of sympathy escaped her and she pressed her head into his chin, lifting his nose slightly. Then, she remembered what she wanted to say and pulled away.

"I spoke with Tigerclaw," she meowed, the slightest bit of anger in her voice. "He didn't even know who you were."

The black tabby gave a tiny squeak of terror. "You spoke with him?"

"Yeah," she meowed, giving a tiny laugh. "He wanted me to ask you if you were still talking to your dad. He's waiting for me on the WindClan-Fourtrees border right now."

Darkpaw rose to his paws.

"What's wrong?" Tawnypaw asked.

"I can't believe you," he meowed harshly.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "He's at the border."

"He's the reason why the dogs were even in ThunderClan territory," snarled Darkpaw. "He led them onto the territory using a trail of rabbits from Lion's Trap."

Tawnypaw was stunned. Cloudpaw had said the same thing before she had left. Her stomach turned, and she looked away.

"He's responsible for half of our apprentices dying!" Darkpaw half-yowled.

Anger flushed through her fur, and she stood up with a growl. "If I remember correctly, it was your fault the apprentices were even out there before the crack of dawn to begin with."

A heavy silence filled the air. Tawnypaw couldn't even see Darkpaw to glare at him and couldn't see if he was glaring back at her. It was... ridiculous. Tawnypaw started to clean her forepaw to stop herself from huffing a laugh.

"You said 'our'," she meowed at last. "Are you planning to go back to ThunderClan?"

Tawnypaw heard the sadness in her friend's voice. "No," he meowed, head lowered. "I can never go back."

If she was still a member of ThunderClan herself, she would have demanded why and insisted he come back anyway. That's how she had reacted when he had first told her, privately, when she first visited nearly half a moon ago. Now, there was no reason to.

 _Because I'm not in ThunderClan anymore,_ she realized, with a blink. "Darkpaw," she meowed, "I want to stay in WindClan with you."

"What?" Darkpaw sounded shocked. "But you belong in ThunderClan."

"Not anymore," she meowed. "I left them."

They fell silent again. "Why?" Darkpaw asked, sounding confused.

"Because I _love_ you," Tawnypaw meowed, half-amused. "Besides, joining a new Clan won't make a difference. I'll be treated just the same as if I stayed in ThunderClan, like I could turn traitor any minute – just like my father."

Darkpaw's claws scraped the ground. "Did he put you up to this?"

The pale tortoiseshell blinked at him. "Who?"

"Your father," Darkpaw meowed. "Tigerclaw."

Tawnypaw lashed her tail, listening to the sound of dust shift under her long fur. She felt Darkpaw's breath on her whisker as he padded towards her and pressed his nose into her shoulder.

"He's a liar, Tawnypaw," he meowed quietly.

"He didn't even know who you were, Darkpaw," meowed Tawnypaw. "I want to know the truth. I want to know who really hurt you and why you're so set on never going back to ThunderClan."

After a long moment where Darkpaw simply breathed deeply, his nose in her fur, the black tabby pulled away. She felt his tail lightly brush her toes as he turned around. "Remember what happened to the warriors? Cinderheart's broken leg, Thornclaw's half-tail, and Brightface's face?"

"Yes," meowed Tawnypaw, remembering how Cinderheart was still stuck in the medicine cat den due to her infected injury. For a heartbeat, she wished she was back home asking Mistleleaf if she was okay, but then she shook it off.

Darkpaw sounded sarcastic. "Doesn't it seem strange to you that I have wounds in the exact same places as them?"

It only took a half-second for Tawnypaw to understand what Darkpaw was saying. "A ThunderClan warrior did this to you? But who-" It clicked. Who was the last cat to see Darkpaw alive? Who didn't seem bothered when he disappeared? Who didn't even seem interested enough to go looking for him, like she already knew what had happened to him? Tawnypaw was almost speechless. "Foxshadow," she breathed.

"Tigerclaw wanted to know if I was still talking to my dad, right?" Darkpaw meowed, bitterly.

Tawnypaw nodded her head but remembered that Darkpaw couldn't see her. It didn't matter; the question was rhetorical.

"I haven't spoken to him at all. I never did. I can't."

"But... all those stories about Tigerclaw?" asked Tawnypaw. "You said your dad told you those stories."

"In a way, he did. You see, I'm not just Darkstripe's son, Tawnypaw. I am Darkstripe. I was reincarnated after I died in a ditch near the Moonstone."

Tawnypaw stared at the darkness, shocked. "W-what?"

She heard Darkpaw sigh and felt like a little kit again, about to be patronized, but she was too shocked to get angry about it. The rain pounded against the ground a foxlength above them, dulling the rest of the world. All she could hear was Darkpaw, the honesty in his voice, the sarcasm, the bitterness, the sorrow, as he finally told her his secret.

"Back when Foxshadow and Ravenfeather were being brought to the Moonstone, I died after landing on some twoleg trash in a ditch near the Thunderpath. When I woke up, I was suckling at my former mate's side as the life drained out of her. I was the first born of the litter, the oldest, and the first out of all cats to know she was going to die."

She heard Darkpaw lick his paw and wondered if she should say something, but she couldn't think of anything to say or even what to think. Instead, she was reminded of a story Foxshadow had told her and the other apprentices, once, when Tawnykit had asked her why Darkkit refused to join them play when she was around. Foxshadow had told her a story about a she-cat who was forced to become a medicine cat after losing her leg to a monster. She had been very confused when Foxshadow had first told her that story since Foxshadow hadn't said how it related to Darkkit, but now she understood. Foxshadow had known from the beginning that Darkstripe had been reincarnated into Darkpaw.

"When I was born, my eye color was not kit-blue, but my former life's yellow eye color. Foxshadow made a big deal about this when I was born, but I don't think she realized what it meant at the time. A few days later, Willowpelt told her that Cloudkit had been scratched again but there were no thorns, and Foxshadow realized I had attacked him. She had me and Cloudkit kept separate from each other, and I wasn't able to scratch him again." He clawed the ground. "I hated the furball the moment I learned he was Foxshadow's adopted son, just like I hated Foxshadow, that half-Clan kittypet."

Tawnypaw felt tense and a tiny bit sick to her stomach. "You attacked a kit."

Darkpaw flattened his ears. "I thought Cloudpaw was a sickness that needed to be snuffed out simply because of his kittypet blood. I didn't want to believe that he or Fireheart were related to Tigerclaw. He was Foxshadow's son, and I blamed her for my death." He huffed. "I didn't learn until almost a moon ago that it was because of Foxshadow that I was even alive again, but by then it was already too late and my fury had killed more than half my kits, half of the litter of the mentor I used to idolize, and then some. It was a disaster.

"So, when Foxshadow came to me to take me hunting, only to lead me to the very spot where she had thrown Brokenstar into the gorge, I knew that it was over. She had warned me over and over again that if I messed up, she would kill me. I had become her enemy, the enemy to ThunderClan, and there was nothing I could do to change any of it. I was still in shock over the whole thing. She called to StarClan as a witness and said she was doing this to defend her Clan at the cost of her reputation and her life. I think she was just spouting words to give me a chance to run, but I couldn't move. I thought she was going to kill me. She told me that it was her fault that I was even alive and that once she was done with me that she was going to become a queen, in the hopes of giving back cats equal to those I had taken away.

"Then, she clawed my face, and my instincts took over. I started to run. She chased me and caught up with me easily, breaking my back leg and biting off half my tail. After that, she let me go and told me that whether I lived or died was now in the paws of the cats I had killed. I passed out on WindClan territory and woke up here, in their medicine cat den and with their medicine cat."

Tawnypaw started to shake her head. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Darkpaw huffed a laugh. "I'm not surprised."

Tawnypaw shook her head. "I should never have left ThunderClan. Who knows what's going to happen to them with her there?"

"What?"

Startled that he was startled, Tawnypaw froze, blinking at the darkness. "Foxshadow attacked an apprentice, Darkpaw!"

"...you didn't listen, did you?" Darkpaw sounded angry. "I was never an apprentice. I've always been a warrior."

"Foxshadow never treated you like one," Tawnypaw argued. "She would always give you apprentice duties."

"Because I would refuse to treat her with any kind of respect," retorted Darkpaw. "I would never listen to her even though she was deputy and always acted like I deserved more than just being an apprentice."

"She attacked you and drove you out of the Clan without talking about it with Bluestar first!"

"She did talk with Bluestar first. Bluestar decided to let it go because she couldn't risk losing another Clanmate, because she thought I was just a normal apprentice, and because she never would have thought that I was going to do something like that again. Foxshadow wouldn't take that chance." Darkpaw sighed. "She would have made a better leader than Bluestar, and probably better than Tigerclaw might have."

"How can you say that? She's a monster!"

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

"No, but _you_ should."

Darkpaw hissed. "So, now you're making decisions for how I should think? I've had almost a moon to think about this, Tawnypaw. Foxshadow isn't the monster. I was. Tigerclaw was. We put our own selfish desires over the lives of our Clanmates and had flimsy excuses to justify it. Besides, you're one to talk. You left ThunderClan for a cat who killed Redtail, all because you can't stand being looked at funny. Do you even know what it's like to have a face like mine? Like Brightface's?"

Tawnypaw felt stung at the mention of her former mentor. "Of course, I don't understand," she meowed lowly, "that's why I had to leave. I couldn't understand why they blamed me for- for surviving."

"Do you really think that Brightface blames you? Or Foxshadow? Or Bluestar? Not when Ashpaw is running off to hunt when he should be guarding the nursery?" Darkpaw lashed his tail and she guessed he was shaking his head, too. "Tawnypaw, it isn't ThunderClan that blames you for surviving. It's you."

"I-I..."

The silence was deafening. It took Tawnypaw a long time to realize it was because the rain had stopped.

Her stomach had twisted into a sick knot and she wanted nothing more than to run, to stretch out her stomach muscles in a vain desperate hope of getting it to stop doing that. It was silent for so long that she could hear a cat's breath tickle her tail.

"Who's there?" she asked, having completely forgotten that she was on WindClan territory and that Deadstar was going to come visit them.

"Deadstar," came the low growl. "And regardless of what has been done, it's time you left WindClan territory. Mudclaw, Onewhisker, and Crowfeather will escort you off."

Tawnypaw momentarily felt chilled to the bone and wondered how much of their conversation the WindClan leader had heard. Deadstar said nothing to her, rising to his paws and padding off into the darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: Is my writer's block finally over? I hope so. I plan to write up another Tawnypaw chapter for friday, but who knows?**


	70. Tawnypaw's Guilt pt 4 (ADP 5-4)

**A/N: I've just finished reading Crowfeather's Trial and my opinion of it isn't very high. It looks like the book was written by two different people and the only character arc I can say I thoroughly enjoyed was Featherpaw's. Not because it was simple, but because the book didn't hammer it into our heads every chapter that Featherpaw had a character arc she needed to get over - unlike the main character arcs with Crowfeather, Nightcloud and Breezepelt, which they felt needed to be summarized again every three chapters. And those characters arcs sometimes felt like they went nowhere or that they could have ended sooner, like I couldn't understand the point of any of them. So, over all, it's earned a "meh" from me. (Also, there is new fanart! :: the deviantart domain/ + _snapdragonkiwi/art/They-blamed-me-for-surviving-760796265_ done by Queens and Snakes here on fanfiction! I can send you guys a link by PM if you want!)  
**

 **Frost: Oh, if only!  
**

 **BraveSeeker3: Cool!  
**

 **Gamelover41592: Someone has put their foot into her eye-door, if that makes sense. LOL.  
**

 **Queens and Snakes: Saw it! Thank you so much!**

 **Shin Maxwell: I'm glad everyone is happy Darkpaw is learning! Yes!  
**

 **TheAlphaofDarkness: Thank you so much!  
**

 **Littlr: Aw, thank you! I'm a fountain of bubbling ideas. :)  
**

 **Guest: I have no idea what this means! I think you might have been censored by ffnet!  
**

 **Marrowfrost: (1) That's good to hear! I can't tell which one on your profile is the story, though. Are you planning on posting it when you finish it? (2) That is exactly it! Canon!Tawnypaw is so self-conscious. (3) I really hope I can start posting twice a week again, but until then... WELP.**

 **ProbablyNobody: Thank you so much! I'm sure there are somethings have forgotten about that I still need to conclude, but we shall see! Now, to your questions: (1) Actually, I kind of like it. Sure, it needs to be more user friendly, but I have a special place in my heart for ffnet so I guess any flaws are kind of forgivable to me, lol. Plus, I can handle complicated. It's the overly simple stuff like wattpad which make me anxieous. I'm weird like that. (2) Omg, like - everything that has to do with Foxpaw and Darkstripe, when she was still a new apprentice and he was a no-good lazy mentor. I should have put a little bit more emphasis on their relationship and develop it more, but I guess the rest of the plot eventually drowned it out. (3) Staying a cat definitely. There has been little love in her human household.**

 **Blazefeather44: It might not end up that long, but I still have about 20 chapters left to write so we'll see.**

 **Sierra: We shall see! I know I want one of those kits to be named Shadowkit, for many reasons. :P**

 **Lightningfire: We shall see!**

 **VinejayVinewings: I totally agree! She went way out of line with what she did, no matter her reasons for it. But we shall see what happens to her if and when the others find out. ;P**

* * *

She smelled the toms before she heard them in the dark tunnels.

The tom from before who had commented about her father and first led her to Darkpaw now led the way out of the maze of tunnels which served as WindClan's home. She smelled the pale brown tabby leader of the patrol who had led her into the camp. He was also in front, right behind the other tom. Behind her, another cat occasionally and rudely pushed her forward. She guessed it was the same cat from the patrol who had pushed her forward whenever he felt she had stopped for too long.

Her stomach twisted uneasily. She felt like she was being hauled off to her execution, not escorted to the border. Her sour fear-scent filled the tight space of the tunnels. Her heart pounded as she saw a vision of the tunnel collapsing around her. Her legs froze up.

A cat shoved her from behind and she suddenly realized her legs could still move. Her breathing came in ragged gasp as she slowly moved forward. Despite standing up, she felt like she was crawling. It was taking forever to get out of the tunnel. A tail brushed her nose, and she realized the pale tabby had slowed down to match her pace. She relief flood through her, and she felt strength flow her, enough to push aside her fear and pick up the pace.

When she first saw sunlight, she felt eager to kiss the daylight. Mudclaw, a dark brown tom, strangely long-haired for a WindClan cat, jumped up into the sun first. The pale tabby slipped down the slope into the still wet mud at the bottom, first glancing back at her to check if she was there and then leaping out of the tunnel after blinked and realized that the entrance was a full foxlength over her head, high enough just for warriors and apprentices to leap. She bunched up her muscles and leaped, clearing the top barely and landing easily on the soft earth.

The moors sloped down below her and the hill where the original WindClan camp is was on her left. On her right, a dark jagged line cut through the earth like a black river. No doubt it was the gorge. A thunderous roar came from the dark line, muted by winds and distance. She shuddered.

"Stay close," the pale tabby called back, his tail brushing her nose again. A flicker of warm humor flashed across the tom's face before he padded after Mudclaw.

The tom behind her suddenly shoved his whole body into her. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to make room for cats, mousebrain?" he hissed.

Surprised, Tawnypaw ducked her head and slinked after the pale tabby. She did not want to be left behind with the grouch, especially when she was forced to follow the pale tabby through sight. Said tabby stopped every once and while to make sure she was following. She lost sight of Mudclaw a long time ago. Everywhere around her, there was nothing but walls of grass taller than her. She wondered if a WindClan cat on top of the hill could see her tail if she stuck it straight up.

When they reached the border with Fourtrees, Tawnypaw was relieved to see the tops of the four great oaks. The WindClan escort gathered around her, with the black tom a few tail lengths away and Mudclaw sitting next to the border with Fourtrees. The dark brown tom led the way around the steep slopes of the Gathering place, careful not to cross over the ShadowClan border.

Mudclaw stopped when they reached southern part of the valley, pointing his nose to the ground and sniffing the ground. At first, Tawnypaw watched him curiously as he lifted his head and looked around, as if expecting a cat to appear out of nowhere, before remembering that Tigerclaw was somewhere nearby. Had the WindClan deputy smelled the traitor?

"Crowfeather, Onewhisker," the dark tom meowed. "Wait here."

He disappeared into the bushes. The black tom stayed several tail lengths behind them. The pale brown tabby walked up to her and sat down beside her, his ears swiveling towards every noise.

"Hey," the pale brown tabby meowed to her quietly. "I'm Onewhisker."

Tawnypaw dipped her head. "I'm Tawnypaw."

"Tigerclaw's daughter?" he asked, surprised.

The pale tortoiseshell's fur bristled uncomfortably. "Yeah."

"It must be tough to have a dad like that," he meowed.

"Like what?" Tawnypaw didn't mean to sound so angry. She just suddenly was.

"Easy," he meowed. "I knew Ravenfeather, his old apprentice. He helped WindClan come back to the Forest Territories, along with Whiteclaw and Flintfang."

Tawnypaw remembered that old story. Flintfang had passed away nearly a season later, Whiteclaw became the father to Shadepelt's kits in RiverClan, and Ravenfeather was getting very close to Cinderheart. She hadn't thought about asking them about her father.

 _Maybe Darkpaw is right_ , she thought, _and I just wanted to leave ThunderClan because of my own guilt. It never had anything to do with Tigerclaw._

She had been so eager to abandon her father for Darkpaw. Now, she wasn't sure where she could go. Tigerclaw was her only option, and she was starting to realize that it wasn't him she had wanted to be with. What was she going to do now? She couldn't leave him. There was nowhere else to go.

"It mustn't be easy being daughter of a traitor," continued Onewhisker. "Let alone a murderer. I can't imagine what you must be going through."

Tawnypaw dipped her head politely. "Thank you," she meowed. "Did Ravenfeather ever tell you how he knew that my father was a murderer."

"No," meowed Onewhisker, "but why ask me when you can ask Ravenfeather yourself?"

She didn't want to tell the WindClan warrior that she had left ThunderClan. Instead, she simply nodded and flicked her tail. "You're right."

The bushes rustled and Mudclaw returned, his face serious. "Crowfeather, Onewhisker, return to camp. Inform Deadstar that Tigerclaw's scent trail has been found."

The black tom stood up and gestured with his tail towards Tawnypaw. "What about her? We need to escort her to ThunderClan."

"I'll handle it," Mudclaw responded. "Deadstar needs to be informed of this now, while the scent is still fresh."

Crowfeather nodded and turned to bound away. Onewhisker hesitated, looking at Tawnypaw and placing his tail on her shoulder. "Be careful," he meowed. "Tigerclaw is extremely dangerous. He'll do anything to get what he wants, even if it means killing his own kin."

Tawnypaw opened her mouth to protest, to tell Onewhisker that he didn't know Tigerclaw at all, but her words stuck in her throat. Did she know her father? She watched Onewhisker bound after Crowfeather. They started to skirt around the rim of the valley, heading towards the tall grass that marked the border with WindClan. She looked back at Mudclaw, and immediately noticed how relaxed the tom was.

"Come," he meowed, before turning and padding away.

Pretty soon, bushes hid him from view. Tawnypaw hesitated before reluctantly following after him. After only a few heartbeats, Mudclaw led her into a small clearing. Tigerclaw was waiting.

"You could have told me sooner," Mudclaw meowed to him. "If I wasn't deputy, they would never have left. WindClan is getting more and more paranoid as days pass by, and for good reason. You shouldn't be here."

"This is the last day I'm here," Tigerclaw assured him, before looking at Tawnypaw. "In fact, I plan to move out in just a few moments. Tawnypaw, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, Tigerclaw," the pale tortoiseshell responded, with a glance at Mudclaw.

"Then, we'll be off," Tigerclaw told Mudclaw. "Is there a WindClan patrol currently on that border?"

"No," meowed Mudclaw. "But there will be one later today. The ShadowClan cats haven't marked the border in a while, so I suggest you get moving. No one knows when one of their patrols will show."

Tigerclaw gave a nod. "We'll use the ditch beside the Thunderpath. Come, Toadpaw, Tawnypaw," he meowed. "Stay close."

Tawnypaw nodded and quickly fell into step beside her half-brother. When she glanced back, Mudclaw was already gone. They reached the edge of Fourtree's neutral territory near the ShadowClan border, where Tigerclaw led them into a ditch. Tawnypaw hesitated. She wondered if this was the same ditch that Darkstripe had drowned in, before his resurrection.

Could he really have been telling the truth? How do you know if someone's been resurrected? How did Foxshadow know? Was it because he hurt Cloudkit? Or something else?

She burned with questions, but there was no one around who could answer them. Toadpaw called up to her, and Tawnypaw swallowed a breath and slipped down the slope after him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she meowed. "It's not something you'd understand."

Toadpaw's tail twitched angrily. "Because I'm not old enough?"

Tawnypaw winced. The tom was four-and-half moons younger than she was and they were both still apprentices. Except neither of them were apprentices anymore. They were Tawny and Toad now. Rogues. Her head lowered and ears flattened, her paws splashing in the black mud. It clung to her fur and distracted her from her thoughts, but only temporarily.

"We are here," meowed Tigerclaw.

They reached the end of the ditch. A thin silver and black tunnel stuck out of the mud wall, accentuated with dark shadows, looking sharp and deadly. Tigerclaw led them up the slope on the right and onto the edge of two thunderpaths that ran to meet each other. One had conquered the other and continued barreling straight towards the horizon on their left. Tawnypaw wondered if it had killed the other thunderpath, since it had not continued passed the other thunderpath.

 _Do thunderpath's die like that?_ she wondered. _Do they die at all?_

Tigerclaw raised his tail to halt their progress, before lopping across. As the sounds of a monster approached, Tawnypaw glimpsed movement out of the corner of her eye and quickly glanced at Toadpaw. The younger tom prepared to bound across, muscles in his body coiling to spring.

Then, to her shock, he leaped forward just as a monster roared into view.

"Wait!" she yowled, lunging forward and barreling into her half-brother, knocking him to the ground onto the yellow stripe. "STAY STILL!" She curled her tail around him and flattened her ears, praying the tom had the sense to keep his tail close.

The monster roared passed, and another barreled down from the opposite directly. The stench clogged her nose and mouth, but she forced herself not to move, not even to gag, until the forest was still once more. When she lifted her head, the thunderpath was clear.

She turned to her half-brother. "Are you all right?"

Toadpaw stared at her with wide eyes and gave a tiny nod, a soft whimper escaping him. Tawnypaw rose to her paws, checked again for monsters and nosed the tom into doing the same.

"Let's go," she meowed, bounding the last two fox-lengths to real safety.

"Where's Tigerclaw?" Toadpaw asked, blinking around. The smell of the thunderpath clogged his scent.

A flash of anger filled her and she clawed the earth. _Did Tigerclaw care so little about his own kits that he'd abandon them while they crossed a thunderpath? If not for Foxshadow's special training, Toadpaw could have died!_

"I smell his scent," meowed Toadpaw. "He went this way."

Tawnypaw wondered if they should follow it before Tigerclaw emerged from nearby bushes. He looked irritated.

"What is keeping you? Hurry up," he meowed, before turning away.

 _He doesn't care at all!_ Tawnypaw thought, growling to herself. She looked at Toadpaw, who looked nervous.

"Do you think he even noticed?" Toadpaw asked, with a wordless backward flick of his tail. "About what happened?"

Tawnypaw shook her head but said nothing, not wanting her anger to get the best of her. "Let's just keep a sharp eye on him. If he does this again, we're leaving."

Still shaken, Toadpaw kinked his tail over his back, looking confused but eventually nodded. "Okay."

When Toadpaw had recovered, Tawnypaw followed Tigerclaw's scent trail deeper into the forest. They reached a small clearing where Tigerclaw waited impatiently, and beyond a narrow opening was a wide open meadow where distant shapes moved in the tall grasses. Tawnypaw lifted her head and tasted the faint smell of many cats on the wind, watching the distant shapes. Nervous, Tawnypaw approached him, with Toadpaw a tail-length behind her.

"What is this place?" she asked Tigerclaw.

"You're new home," he meowed, lifting his head proudly. "Welcome to TigerClan."

* * *

Something shifted in the darkness beyond the WindClan medicine cat's den. Darkpaw lifted his head to sniff the air, catching the many different scents around him. The smell of Barkface, dried herbs, and rain hit his nose first, but underneath it all was the smell of rabbit, fox, and even badger, not yet completely gone. A breath of fresh air faintly whistled down the tunnel to his left, and he knew right away that his visitor had not come from outside. He knew right away from the near total silence of the WindClan cat that it could only be Deadstar, the black cat with a lame forepaw who was still the quietest hunter in the Clan despite it.

"So," meowed WindClan's leader, "what did she tell you?"

Darkpaw took only a moment to think it over. Despite his former allegiance to ThunderClan and his friendship with Tawnypaw, his loyalty now lay with the only Clan who had accepted him during his greatest time of need and continued to take care of him despite the rumors about him. He dipped his head, uncaring that no one could see him in the dark, and opened his mouth to explain...

* * *

 **A/N: This is the end of Tawnypaw's Innocence! which I'm planning to change to Tawnypaw's Guilt simply because that title seems more appropriate.**

 **I didn't mean to do it but all the Tigerlings begin with Ts; Tiger, Tawny, and Toad. Haha, that's funny.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	71. A Dangerous Path pt 6

**A/N: An update! And I now have a job! Yes! Wish me luck! Especially since it could mean more updates!  
**

 **Gamelover41592: We shall find out at the next Gathering!**

 **Littlesmack: I think I've spoken in length with you over the PMs. Thank you again for your review! Please review again sometime!**

 **Marrowfrost: Cool! I can't wait to see book two! And I hope my writer's block if over, too.**

 **Lightningfire: Thank you so much! I'm glad someone loves Darkpaw! He needs some love!**

 **Sierra: Yes it would. Let's hope it's not going to turn into Shadowfox or Shadowshadow, lol.**

 **Clearsight1010: Those are some good names for Darkpaw's kits. Mmm, yes.**

 **Blazefeather44: You're absolutely right. I should have kept my big mouth shut. Hah, oh well.**

 **ProbablyNobody: Ah, but if the main character tried to keep the story to canon, it would make it far too predictable and bland. (1) Graystripe's father is Thrushpelt! (2) Nope! Graystripe doesn't have a hating bone in his body. He's more depressed than anything. She's locked him into place and he's not happy because his heart longs for ThunderClan. (3) Tigerclaw already knows but only half the truth. I have toyed with the idea of him learning more about her from Thistleclaw, but he's not insane enough to make her mad. Unlike Mapleshade.**

 **Nuggithedog: Your wish is granted!**

 **Fawnfur000DETHKA: They will not, I promise. All of Foxshadow's kits are going to be original characters. But there are going to be three other she-cat in ThunderClan with the right genetics for Oakstar and Ravenwing, so watch out! (Though, tbh, Ravenwing isn't going to be in ThunderClan. Shhh, don't tell anyone.)**

* * *

"TIGERCLAW IS BEHIND THE NURSERY! TIGERCLAW IS HERE!"

Foxshadow shot to her paws and burst out of the nursery with her claws unsheathed and fur bristling. She froze, her heart hammering into her throat as Cloudpaw scrambled out through the bramble tunnel.

The white tom jerked his head towards the east. "He's headed towards twolegplace! Up the ravine!"

Cats - blue, browns, gold, red, black - darted passed him and out into the forest, yowling as they charged after the traitor. The rest of the camp had come alive, swarming around Foxshadow and nervously watching the entrance for the warrior's return.

The former deputy felt like she was being torn in two. One part of her wanted to chase Tigerclaw and kill him, while another part of her wanted to return to the nursery and hide despite the hole in the back of it. When she saw Brightface rush to Cloudpaw's side, she remembered the Clan and realized she could choose neither option. She approached her son.

"I'm glad you're okay," she meowed. "Where is Tawnypaw and Ashpaw?"

Hurt flashed in his eyes. "Tawnypaw left with Tigerclaw."

Foxshadow couldn't even feign surprise. That had been her hope and was exactly why she had done nothing as Tigerclaw spoke to Tawnypaw. She had wanted Tawnypaw to leave.

Then Cloudpaw hissed angrily. "And Ashpaw went hunting!"

Foxshadow bristled, but couldn't bring herself to be angry about it. She just felt tired. "We can't do anything about Tawnypaw," she reasoned. "We have to take care of the camp." She lifted her gaze and scanned the treeline.

Foxshadow turned to the rest of her Clan. "Tigerclaw is clever. We can't underestimate him. I want everyone on high alert. If it turns out that he's going to invade right now, I want us to be ready. We will wait until Bluestar returns before we decide our next move. Patchpelt, you'll be on look out for Bluestar's patrol. Cloudpaw, Snowpaw, your job is to find and bring back Ashpaw. Use all your wits and stealth to avoid being spotted. Brambleclaw, Sandstorm, Longtail, and Fernspots, you're in charge of the rest of the apprentices. If it comes down to a fight, its your responsibility to make sure they survive. Everyone else, you're with me."

Without waiting to see if everyone obeyed, Foxshadow led the rest of the warriors with her out into the forest. "Now, everyone needs to pick a tree and hide in it. If any one of you sees enemy cats coming from ShadowClan territory or Fourtrees, you sound the alarm. When the alarm sounds, all of you will prepare to ambush them on my call. If it's the apprentice, don't sound the alarm. Understand?"

She waited until Brightface, Willowpelt, Thornclaw, and Mousefur had agreed before slipping back through the entrance. She padded straight for the medicine cat den. She wanted a good idea of how much supplies they had if it came down to a fight. Right now, it was a tense waiting game.

Patchpelt sounded the call.

Foxshadow walked out of the medicine cat den and bounded towards Bluestar as she emerged from the camp entrance. Fireheart, Goldenflower, Brackenfur, Ravenfeather, and Dustpelt spilled into camp behind her. The former deputy didn't realize how many warriors had disappeared until that very moment.

"Does one cat terrify you so much that you all had to go and chase him down?" Foxshadow asked, her anger returning, clipped and sarcastic. "And leave our camp without some of our warriors to defend it? What if he had ambushed us?"

Bluestar blinked in surprise. Fireheart flinched.

"Fireheart," Foxshadow rounded on him. "You're new to the deputy position, so I suppose it's understandable that you think you can still leave the camp and go wherever you want whenever you feel like it. But you need to stop thinking like a warrior and more like a deputy."

She redirected her ire towards the four warriors. "There is a reason why we have a chain of command. Bluestar makes the ultimate decision on who leaves the Clan and who stays. When she does not give orders, your deputy is supposed to give them instead. When he is unable to give orders, you do what you swore to do when you first became warriors. You defend this Clan - right here, not out there in twolegplace - and you don't leave the camp unless the deputy or leader, or someone else of higher authority, tells you otherwise."

She turned to Dustpelt and Brackenfur. "Dustpelt, Brackenfur, I expected a senior warrior and my former apprentice to understand that you cannot defend your camp when you're on the other side of the territory. Neither of you have any reason to chase after Tigerclaw when your duty is to defend the Clan and the camp."

Finally, Foxshadow looked at Goldenflower and Ravenfeather. "I understand how both of you must feel about Tigerclaw. He was my unofficial mentor once, too, and I know how manipulative and tricky he can be. But that doesn't mean you should leave the camp without orders, especially when we could have been ambushed while you were gone. Do I make myself clear?"

The chastised warriors nodded their understanding.

"Good," Foxshadow meowed, her ears flattening. She turned to her blue-gray leader. "Bluestar, Fireheart, I need to speak with you both."

Bluestar nodded solemnly, her eyes sweeping over those that remained in camp. With brows furrowed, she nodded and turned to her den. The fiery red deputy and former deputy followed after her.

When their leader had settled down in her nest, Foxshadow told there where everyone was. "I think Ashpaw needs to be punished for leaving his post," she told them.

"You want to banish him?" Fireheart asked, unhappily.

Foxshadow looked at him sharply, surprised. "No, nothing so extreme," she meowed softly. "We need all the warriors we can get."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I believe Cloudpaw should be made a warrior," meowed Foxshadow. "I would suggest we make Snowpaw a warrior as well, but I don't think Snowpaw has been given an opportunity to earn it yet. I sent both of them out to fetch Ashpaw, if they can find him, and instructed them to stay out of sight."

"You sent them out into the forest alone?" asked Fireheart, alarmed.

"They are adults even if they are apprentices," meowed Foxshadow. "I am simply giving them an opportunity to prove they are ready to be warriors."

"But what if an ambush is out there waiting for them?" Fireheart lashed his tail, anxious and angry.

Foxshadow flicked an ear, unimpressed. "Tigerclaw wouldn't waste his time with apprentices. He has already proven he'll rather force them to join him than kill them. Besides, if he does have rogues hiding on ThunderClan territory, they would be preparing to ambush the camp. Not a few apprentices. Whatever information the apprentices have they already have from Tigerclaw."

Bluestar sat up. "Foxshadow, do you really think that a group of rogues are waiting to attack ThunderClan?"

"If Tigerclaw could gather up enough of them, then yes," she meowed. "Tigerclaw has never been the kind of cat who takes an insult lying down and he always gets back at them, one way or another. If he hasn't set up an ambush today, he certainly planned to when he had finished opening that hole in the back of the nursery." Foxshadow licked her paw. "I just don't understand why he came back after we caught him the first time. The only thing I can think of is that he wanted to be caught so he could ambush us or his ultimate goal was just to deliver a message."

A chill seemed to fill the air. Foxshadow knew it was midsummer and growing hotter, but her spine disagreed. She shook herself and licked her chest to flatten her ruffled fur.

"But we haven't been ambushed yet," Fireheart mewed, sounding hopeful.

Foxshaodw nodded. "Then this was just a message. Tigerclaw wants us to know that he isn't afraid of us and that he hasn't forgotten about us, either." She put her paw down and wrapped her tail around herself. "But this also means that Tigerclaw is ready to make a move against us. If he doesn't ambush us today, then he'll ambush us soon."

Bluestar stared at her. "How soon?"

The queen tried to think about what Tigerclaw might do, but it was almost too easy to come up with an answer. "The next Gathering is in a quarter moon, Bluestar. That is when ThunderClan will be at its weakest. That's when Tigerclaw plans to attack."

Fireheart shuddered. Bluestar slowly shook her head.

"He wouldn't," she meowed. "Not even he would do that."

"Maybe it will be cloudy that night," meowed Fireheart. "Maybe StarClan won't let us go."

Foxshadow frowned. "Either way, I'm staying in the camp. If Tigerclaw attacks ThunderClan, I want to be here where I can do the most help."

Fireheart nodded. "I agree. ThunderClan will stay here, as well. We can't risk it."

Bluestar looked at her former deputy and current deputy. Then she sighed. "Very well."

Foxshadow nodded in relief. "Good," she meowed. "Fireheart, you should inform the patrols to tell the other Clans we won't be showing up, as well as everything that has happened with Tigerclaw."

Fireheart glanced at Bluestar, who flicked her ears, face expressionless. Unhappily, Fireheart nodded his understanding. With a final glance at Bluestar, Foxshadow rose to leave.

A yowl came from outside. Foxshadow rushed out with Fireheart and Bluestar on her heels. Bluestar quickly took the lead.

Two white toms burst into camp, a grey-and-black spotted tom behind them. No prey, Foxshadow noted angrily. The rest of the Clan was bombarding the three apprentices with questions, some of them looking as angry as Foxshadow felt.

Bluestar stepped forward, her head high and her tail as straight as a flagpole. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, feigning ignorance.

"Ashpaw left his post behind the nursery," Cloudpaw explained. "Foxshadow told us to bring him back."

"We were careful not to be seen!" Snowpaw interrupted.

Foxshadow gave him a nod of approval but said nothing.

Bluestar meowed. "Did you see anyone?"

Cloudpaw continued. "We found Tigerclaw's scent trail near the thunderpath, but it was old and stale. We think that's the way he went to get behind the nursery. We didn't scent anyone else out there."

"Where did you find Ashpaw?" Fireheart asked, glancing over the spotted apprentice.

Ashpaw shoved his face forward. "I was scouting around Lion's Trap, where Darkpaw said he first saw Tigerclaw before the dog attack."

"What were you doing there?" Dustpelt half-growled. "Looking for Tigerclaw's scent? Its been moons since the dogs first showed up! That scent would be long gone."

Ashpaw lashed his tail. "I found Tigerclaw's scent beside the Thunderpath before they found me." He jerked his nose angrily at the other two apprentices, as if it was their fault he decided to do something stupid.

Foxshadow lashed her tail angrily.

"You abandoned your post!" growled Cloudpaw. "To go _hunting_!"

"We found some of prey he stashed beside Lion's Trap," meowed Snowpaw, frowning in disapproval. "Just a mouse and a shrew. We left it there and came right back, just in case the camp was attacked."

The fur along Ashpaw's spine rose and he opened his mouth to object.

"Enough!" snarled Bluestar. "You abandoned your post, Ashpaw. Because of you, Tawnypaw left to join Tigerclaw and Cloudpaw was forced to handle them both on his own. You will join the elders in the elders den from now on." She turned her attention to Cloudpaw. "You have done well, today, Cloudpaw. You have obviously learned from your mistakes. And for that, I have decided it is time for you to become a warrior."

Out of the corner of her eye, Foxshadow saw Brightface sit up in pride, eyes bright with excitement. Beside Foxshadow, Bluestar turned around and bound up the Highrock. Everyone turned to face her, some looking mildly confused.

"ThunderClan!" yowled Bluestar. "I am proud of your quick reflexes today and your determination to put an end to Tigerclaw's evil. I am especially proud that one of our apprentices has proven that he can learn from his mistakes, a valuable trait to have in our warriors, especially now."

"Cloudpaw, come here," she meowed, gesturing for the apprentice to come forward. The giant fluffball practically staggered, just as shocked as some of the other Clanmates. Ashpaw looked like he had been clawed in the face. "Longtail, your apprentice has trained hard and proven himself today, but we all know there are more skills that a warrior needs. Do you believe your apprentice is ready to be made a warrior?"

The golden-and-black tabby glanced at Sandstorm for confirmation before he nodded. "I do."

"Then I, Bluestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." She looked down at the apprentice. "Cloudpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Foxshadow's white marshmellow puffed out his chest in pride. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Cloudpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cloudtail. StarClan honors your courage and wisdom, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Bluestar leaped elegantly down and stepped towards him. Cloudtail ducked his head and licked her shoulder. Foxshadow burst into a loud purr.

"Cloudtail!" she yowled. "Cloudtail!"

Longtail yowled, "Cloudtail! Cloudtail!"

Soon, the rest of the Clan joined in, yowling. "Cloudtail! Cloudtail! Cloudtail!"

Foxshadow pressed up against her adopted son's shoulder. "You did good today, Cloudtail," she meowed, warmth filling her chest. "I'm so proud of you."

Cloudtail purred loudly in response, headbutting Brightface as she neared.

"I'm so proud of you, Cloudtail!" Brightface told him, before getting embarrassed. "And now that you're a warrior, I was wondering..."

The white tom looked surprised and glanced at Foxshadow in confusion. "What is it, Brightface?"

"If you would like to become m-my..." Brightface shuffled her paws. "I mean, if you would like to father my kits."

The white tom was shocked. He jerked his head forward to gently touch her nose, exploding into a loud purr. "I would love to!"

Brightface purred loudly. "That's great!"

"I hope this means you'll be joining me in the nursery in a moon," Foxshadow meowed with a purr, headbutting her new daughter-in-law.

Brightface seemed to blush and licked her chest fur flat. "Perhaps," she meowed.

The massive she-cat gave a _mrrow_ of laughter. "You should decide whether you want kits now or next newleaf because you don't want them being born during winter." Foxshadow turned serious. "That would kill them."

The ginger-and-white she-cat nodded. "Yes, Foxshadow. But I think Sandstorm would be joining you first."

"Oh?" Foxshadow shot a glance at the pale tabby warrior. There were no signs that Sandstorm was pregnant. "Probably not until next moon. She's stubbornly mousebrained."

Brightface and Cloudtail gave a _mrrow_ of amusement. Foxshadow let them enjoy this moment together.

"Cloudtail," mewed Foxshadow. "I hope you're going to volunteer to keep an eye out for Tigerclaw tomorrow night. You'll probably have your vigil then, too."

"Right," meowed the white tom, glancing up at the dark sky. "My vigil."

"Talk to Fireheart about it," meowed Brightface, sounding concerned.

"You should sleep together tonight," mewed Foxshadow, "unless you don't want kits."

"Fireheart might need us for the dawn patrol," meowed Brightface, worriedly.

"I'll speak with your uncle," Foxshadow told Cloudtail. "You shouldn't have anything to do during sun-up, especially since you'll be on vigil tomorrow night."

Cloudtail nodded gratefully as Brightface leaned into him, purring comfortably.

"I'll see both of you tomorrow night," meowed Foxshadow, feeling suddenly very tired. "I'm sure the whole Clan will want to sleep in after that scare."

"We can't all sleep in," mewed Cloudtail, though he didn't move away from Brightface. "I'll stay up for the rest of the night."

"Tell Fireheart that," Foxshadow meowed. "We can both talk to him together."

"I think I can speak for myself, mom," responded Cloudtail.

Foxshadow flicked an ear at him. "But who's going to speak for the rest of the Clan? Especially as their former deputy?" She dipped her head to Brightface. "I'll make sure you have him to yourself at dawn. Don't be afraid to tell him to back off, okay?"

Brightface nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"And tell Brindleface when you start expecting!"

Foxshadow and Cloudtail rushed over to Fireheart. Cloudtail requested that he sleep through the day and Fireheart agreed. Foxshadow waited for her son to return to Brightface before speaking to Fireheart.

"What are you planning for the patrols tomorrow?" Foxshadow meowed.

"Cinderheart is feeling better and back on her paws," meowed Fireheart. "I thought she should be on the dawn patrol."

Foxshadow shook her head. "Cinderheart will need to be on light duty. Put her on any hunting patrols you've organized."

Fireheart shifted. "Well, then I was thinking Dustpelt, Mousefur, and Longtail should be on the dawn patrol."

Foxshadow nodded.

"Then I was thinking that the hunting patrol would have Fernspots and Brambleclaw and their apprentices."

"And Goldenflower," meowed Foxshadow.

Fireheart gave Foxshadow a quick stare. "I'll have Cinderheart, Falconpaw, and Willowpelt on the sunhigh ShadowClan patrol. And Ravenfeather, Thornclaw and Harrierpaw on the second hunting patrol." Another glance. "Then Sandstorm, Brackenfur, and Brightface will be on the evening patrol."

Foxshadow nodded. "And you'll be on the first hunting patrol to keep an eye on the new warriors and their apprentices."

"Alright," mewed Fireheart, whiskers bushing forward in annoyance. "If I have a choice."

"Watch it," mewed Foxshadow, amusedly flicking him with her tail. "As deputy, it's your job to keep track of what the apprentices are learning and make sure everyone is on the same page and who needs more time with what. Plus, you'll be making sure that the new warriors aren't having any problems with their apprentices. Especially since none of the mentors are senior warriors."

"Makes sense," meowed Fireheart quickly. "But what about Tigerclaw?" He shifted on his paws. "Who is going to be out looking for him?"

"Do you not trust your Clan?" she asked him. "Or do you think you can be in every place at once?" She studied him closely before rolling her eyes. "If it means so much to you, I'll be on the first hunting patrol. Or you can convince Bluestar to do it, if she's willing. Just make sure you make it up to the Clan by spending time with Sandstorm on the evening patrol."

Fireheart made a choked noise and turned away, fur ruffled in embarrassment.

"You toms are so easy!" Foxshadow meowed with a laugh. "I'm off to encourage Cinderheart to join me in the nursery next moon. Wish me luck!"

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!  
**


	72. A Dangerous Path pt 7

**A/N: And it looks like we have only six reviews this time. No one was expecting an update this early! I hope no one misses the last chapter.**

 **Gamelover41592: Yes, she does!**

 **ellabellu: Thank you so much! And I understand what you mean about warrior names. I really didn't like Twigbranch, but it's really not as bad as Runningwind or some other names they had back in the beginning. Or Sneezekit.  
**

 **ProbablyNobody: It's still been done too much and too predictable. Maybe if you ended up there for real, that's what you should do, but this is a fanfic and everyone should be having fun with it. (1) Now really. (3) Same here! But he's done himself in when he encouraged Tigerpaw to attack a kittypet kit, at least as far as Foxshadow is concerned - though the circumstances of what happened are different... (4) Yes, her powers had a huge influence on her adapting the life of a warrior.**

 **Marrowfrost: Ouch! Fanfiction has really been slipping, but lets be real it was never the best site for this kind of stuff to begin with.**

 **SpinyLiving: Ah, but its' not Sandstorm asking for him to have kits with her, its Foxshadow asking him to have kits with Sandstorm. She's just assuming they've gotten together behind her back or something. We'll see what chemistry they have later.**

 **Lightningfire: Your review didn't show up until I'd already updated. Sorry about that!**

* * *

"Cinderheart?" Foxshadow quietly meowed as she cautiously stepped into the medicine cat den.

Mistleleaf responded instead. "Over here," she meowed from her left. "She's asleep."

"Mistleleaf," meowed Foxshadow in relief, and quickly padded over to touch noses with the medicine cat. The two she-cats were so close that Foxshadow could see a gold glint reflected in the pupils of her eyes. She kept her voice low. "How is the oldest cat in the forest?"

"Yellowfang is fine," meowed Mistleleaf in amusement. "She's asleep, too."

Foxshadow turned an ear towards the darkness, towards the back of the medicine cat den, and someone gave a raspy snore. Foxshadow relaxed and side-stepped into Mistleleaf so their pelts touched.

"How are you?" the massive she-cat murmured. "Are you lonely?"

Mistleleaf gave a soft purr. "Aren't you here to ask about Cinderheart?"

"I came for you, too," meowed Foxshadow. "Why else would I wait until my fellow prisoner was asleep?"

The white she-cat purred softly in amusement and joy, and she needed a moment before she could speak. "I'm okay, and Cinderheart's okay, too. She never knew she had kits to begin with so she was over it pretty quickly, but it's hard to convince Brindleface of that."

"Is she planning to try again?"

Mistleleaf glanced into the darkness. "Ravenfeather doesn't know yet," she meowed. "Cinderheart doesn't want to bring it up until Ravenfeather knows."

Someone shifted in the dark. "Until Ravenfeather knows what?"

The two she-cats fell silent in surprise and guilt. Foxshadow let out a purred to mask her surprise. "Too much excitement tonight, Ravenfeather?"

"Yeah," meowed her old friend, as he rose to his paws and padded closer. "What don't I know?"

Foxshadow sensed it would be dangerous to tell Ravenfeather directly, so she instead adopted an authoritative tone. "You are Cinderheart's mate, correct?"

"Yes," meowed Ravenfeather, before he scuffed the ground with a paw. "Well, we haven't made it official yet but we love each other. I mean-" He shifted uncomfortably. "We slept together."

"All the toms," Foxshadow told Mistleleaf with a purr. She squinted at her friend, trying to see his expression in his the darkness, her tone becoming authoritative once more. "Then you're saying that you trust Cinderheart, correct?"

"Why, yes, of course." Ravenfeather's tail-tip twitched, and he glanced at Mistleleaf. "I would trust her with my life."

"And the lives of your kits, correct?" Still squinting, Foxshadow stood up and brought her face close to Ravenfeather's.

The tom seemed to shrink a little. "Of course."

"Good," she meowed, bopping him on the nose, "because that means you also trust her to tell you her secrets when she's ready and never when you demand it. After all, patience is the mark of a warrior."

Ravenfeather flattened his ears. He licked his shoulder fur ruefully. "Yeah," he agreed, conceding the point. "Fine."

Foxshadow grinned. "Now, I really came here to ask if Cinderheart would be ready to have kits in a few moons. We don't really have that many queens, and queens means kits and future apprentices for the Clan. If not now, I think she should wait until newleaf."

Ravenfeather blinked. "I don't know."

"She still has to recover," Mistleleaf added. "It may take a moon."

Foxshadow flicked her whole tail thoughtfully, nervously. "I don't want any kit to be born near or in leaf-bare. The cold will kill the kits. I'm trying to make sure that all our kits are at least two moons old before the start of leafbare. That way, they'll be strong enough to survive until newleaf."

"I understand," meowed Ravenfeather, touching her nose with his own. There was a definite grin in his voice. "You love all kits, my brother's Foxscar."

"Ahh!" Foxshadow ducked her head in embarrassment. "See you later, Ravenfeather. Bye, Mistleleaf."

The two cats let out a _mrrow_ of laughter. "Goodnight," they meowed.

Foxshadow rushed out and stepped to the left outside of the fern tunnel, right in front of the prisoner's den's back entrance. She saw herself taking her kits inside, telling them of her secrets, telling them she had a mission for them. It was almost like a vision.

She shook herself. She no longer believed in visions, omens, or prophecies. They were always too vague; they could mean anything at any time, like the white squirrel omen from when she first showed up that still wasn't resolved. She could only hope and guess that it only predict the first Snowkit's death. And what about the prophecy of the face of darkness bathing forest in blood? Was it still going to happen or had it already happened?

"Foxshadow!" Brindleface padded up to her. "How is Cinderheart?"

"Everyone tells me she's fine," meowed Foxshadow, feeling suddenly like she wanted to catch Brindleface in neglecting her promise for no reason. "I heard she wasn't too broken up over losing her kits since she didn't even know she had them."

"She's more upset than she lets on," assured Brindleface, worry in her eyes. "She's just trying to be strong for me and Ravenfeather."

Foxshadow didn't believe her for a single moment, but nodded acceptance. Brindleface was a worried mother and too busy to sleep in the nursery. Foxshadow tried not to let her sadness or fear show. "I understand," meowed Foxshadow, smiling. "Let her know that she can always have a litter tomorrow or next newleaf."

 _I'll just have to ask Goldenflower,_ she decided, disappointed. Even though the two had always gotten along well before, she had barely talked to the she-cat for seasons. The idea of talking to her now would feel a little awkward. She padded towards the warriors den and poked her head inside.

"Anyone awake?"

"Anyone _asleep_?" grumbled Mousefur with a tired yawn. "What do you need, Foxshadow?"

"I'm looking for Goldenflower?" Foxshadow sniffed the air, but the golden she-cat's scent was stale. "Do you know where she is?"

"No," meowed Mousefur. "Last I saw her was when she came back from chasing Tigerclaw."

Foxshadow nodded. "Thanks." She turned to leave, but Mousefur spoke up.

"Did you come up with the idea of making Cloudtail a warrior just to punish Ashpaw?"

There was something in Mousefur's tone that made Foxshadow bristle as she struggled to see what Mousefur was seeing. "Are you accusing Bluestar of something, Mousefur? Do you think she is showing me and my son favoritism? Or that she's incapable of coming up with punishments for cats on her own?"

"No," meowed Mousefur. "I just don't think that was Bluestar's idea. It doesn't sound like her and, after what happened to Darkpaw... well, I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from."

Foxshadow's eyes went wide. Did Mousefur suspect she was the one to attack Darkpaw? Yes, of course, she suspected, but Foxshadow didn't feel like giving her the satisfaction of knowing. "Bluestar makes her own decisions," Foxshadow meowed friendly. Her stomach burned with shame at the lie but she kept her face the same. "Excuse me." She ducked out of the warrior's den.

Foxshadow glanced around the camp, hoping to distract herself from Mousefur's suspicion. "Has anyone seen Goldenflower?"

"She's in the apprentice's den," Slatepaw meowed, bounding towards her eagerly. "I can go get her for you, Fox Slayer!"

"It's Foxshadow, and don't you forget it," meowed the queen, amused and relieved. "Can you ask her where she's planning to sleep tonight? I was hoping she'd join me in the nursery for a few days."

"Sure!" the gray she-cat mewed, racing off.

Then Mousefur poked her head out. "Having trouble sleeping?"

"There's a traitor and murderer threatening to carve a hole in the back of the nursery so he can kill my kits," Foxshadow half-snapped before catching herself, adopting a sarcastic tone. "I'm sleeping like the dead."

The dusky tabby wrinkled her nose, looking uncomfortable. "I could join you."

"Says the cat who thinks I'm conspiring to make every apprentice I don't like have the worst apprenticeship ever," Foxshadow meowed, more than a little testy. "If you don't trust me, why should I trust you?"

Mousefur flattened her ears, opened her mouth to comment, thought better of it, and, annoyed, ducked her head back into the warrior's den. Feeling only slightly guilt and more irritated, Foxshadow lashed her tail and padded away towards the nursery, half-hoping that Goldenflower had sneaked inside while she was talking with Mousefur but the nursery was empty, cold, and dark. She sniffed out a new nest, curled up and collapsed, her head resting on her paws. After what felt like an hour later but was only a minute, the sound of pawsteps approached the entrance to the den, and a dark silhouette stuck her head in.

"Foxshadow?" meowed Goldenflower, a sleek silhouette with slim shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm awake," meowed Foxshadow, surprised at her own relief. "Can you join me in the nursery tonight? And tomorrow, maybe?"

She gave a soft snort of air, amusement in her voice. "Of course, Foxshadow. I'll stay with you until Tigerclaw's..." She paused, sad. "Until he's gone forever."

"I'm sorry," Foxshadow softly mewed, hoping to comfort the first friendly cat she had ever met in the Clan. "I can't imagine what it must have felt like when he betrayed the Clan."

"I don't really want to talk about it." Goldenflower's tail tip twitched.

"Okay." Foxshadow rested her head on her paws again. "Will you stay with me?"

The cat in the darkness collapsed heavily beside her. Foxshadow heard her response from near her paws, her breathe ruffling the fur on her toes.

"Yes."

Despite all the signs, Foxshadow was relieved that she had someone sleeping beside her. She closed her eyes and found herself dragged into the darkness.

* * *

She was floating in space where bushes and grass were made of starlight, staring down a steep slope and half-expecting a horde of rabbits to come tearing out of the starry trees on the other side of the clearing, straight up into her waiting claws. On her left, a starlit tom emerged from the bushes, his stars the color of cool gray and bright white in cloudy patches on his body. On her right, another starlit cat emerged, his long fur ragged and coated in dark red stars that looked almost brown and empty spaces that scored stripes down his sides, tail, and face.

"Cloudstar, Raggedstar." She dipped her head to them. "Why am I here?"

"You have a trial to run as was agreed," meowed Raggedstar, unhappily twitching his whiskers. "This one is Thistleclaw's."

An uncomfortable feeling settled in her belly. "Ah. So tell me the history of the warrior known as Thistleclaw, but summarize any part involve him and Spottedpaw."

They explained everything in detail to her, and she happy to find out that Spottedleaf's Heart was not canon. Thistleclaw hadn't bothered chasing after anyone else after Snowfur died, instead retreating within himself and growing more and more vicious towards other Clans whenever he was alone and near the border.

"Thistleclaw is evil," meowed Cloudstar. "There is no question of it."

"Why is he evil?" Foxshadow wondered.

"He trained in the Dark Forest," said Raggedstar, as if that explained everything.

"Not everyone who goes to the Dark Forest is truly evil, Raggedstar," Foxshadow told him, with a grand sweep of her tail to the surrounding replica of Lion's Trap. "You can visit StarClan and not be dead after all."

"He's aggressive," Cloudstar pointed out, looking angry that anyone could suggest Thistleclaw wasn't evil.

"Did he kill anyone on purpose?" The massive she-cat looked from one to the other. "He didn't, did he?"

"No," admitted Raggedstar.

"He encouraged his apprentice to attack an kittypet kitten who died from the wounds," Cloudstar told her, her fluffing up in shock. "Murder through encouragement is still murder."

"Tigerpaw killed Tiny?"

"Yes," meowed Raggedstar, placing his tail gently on her shoulder.

"Does that mean something?" asked Cloudstar, blinking curiously, his eyes staring deep into her eyes, searching for recognition.

Foxshadow looked away. "Tiny was supposed to become someone, a threat the Clan would have to face in the future, and the leader of BloodClan."

"I know BloodClan," meowed Raggedstar.

"Who's their leader?" she asked him.

Raggedstar grew thoughtful. "I think Boulder said it was a tom, mostly black with a white paw. I don't remember his name."

"Boulder's in StarClan," said Cloudstar to Foxshadow. "You can't ask him, but we'll be sure to ask him for you."

Foxshadow nodded. "That would be great. Now, about Thistleclaw. It's against the warrior code to attack a kit or leave one to die. I think we can all agree on where he's going to end up."

"We suspected as much," said Cloudstar, lying down on the slope. "That's why we didn't summon him."

The massive she-cat opened her mouth to reproach them, to tell them that the tom needed to be here just to know that the decisions was made, that justice had been served, so that he knew what he had done wrong. But she just didn't want to talk to Thistleclaw, she wanted to sleep and wake up and worry about Tigerclaw all over again.

With a sigh, she rose to her paws. "No reason to give a murderer hope that he'll end up in StarClan," she meowed finally. "No reason to waste time on those who have already been judged or have already made their decision. Next time, give me someone who has only just died."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this short and kind of lackluster chapter. I hope to have something much better for next chapter.**


	73. A Dangerous Path pt 8

**A/N: I love Foxshadow's determination to end every conversation on a high note. You can rescue a dying friendship with good news, I think.**

 **Gamelover41592: Foxshadow's power changed the plot the moment she showed up in this world, since she's the one who created it. I really need to actually start explaining the power she lost in story, don't I? Mmmm, mm.**

 **ellabellu: Oh, yeah, Tiny is dead. And the leader of BloodClan is definitely a relative of Tiny's. That's all the sneak peaks for today.**

 **Lightningfire: Slatepaw, Harrierpaw, Falconpaw, and Graypaw are Brindleface's last kits before she became an elder.**

 **Blazefeather44: I hope so, too!**

 **ProbablyNobody: Thanks so much!**

 **Marrowfrost: Yeah, I agree, but I like the simple format. I have to wrestle with Ao3, before I realized that you can copy and paste tags into it as long as you have commas in between the tags. Not sure if that works on every computer. You know, to be honest, I've always had trouble confusing Thrushpelt and Thistleclaw's names. I really didn't care for Bluestar's Prophecy, though Thrushpelt was a dear in it. Loved him so much. Which is why Graystripe's his kid.**

* * *

Foxshadow groggily woke up, uncurled from her nest, and turned her head towards Goldenflower. Her whiskers brushed thin air, and she stiffened, shifted to put her nose into the abandoned nest, smelling the scent Goldenflower had left behind. Foxshadow guessed that Goldenflower had not wanted to disturb her, so left without waking her up. But anxiety still clawed the inside of her belly. She rose and padded outside.

The sun had risen high overhead, peeking through the rushing green leaves to caste dappled patterns onto the freshkill pile. It was half-full, only three foxlengths in front of her, and lacked any rabbit. To her left was the entrance to dirt place, then the concealed fern tunnel leading into the medicine cat den and the prisoner's den on the other side of it. To her right was the elder's den, Patchpelt sunning on the stump, and then the empty apprentice's den. Across the camp and slightly to the left was the Highrock, on its left was the warrior's den and on its right was the leader's den, covered in a green curtain of lichen.

After counting the number of warriors left in camp, the massive she-cat turned towards the fern tunnel, but some cat called her name from across the camp. The leafy walls absorbed all sounds. Noises from inside of the den grew louder rapidly as she pushed through.

"...give it another chance," came the soft, soothing mew of Brindleface. "I'm sure you'll have four lovely kits!"

"Have you thought of names yet?" Goldenflower. Foxshadow hadn't actually been expecting to find her here, and guessed that Yellowfang was out, since she would have kicked her out. She wasn't fond of too many cats in the den.

"Ravenkit," said Cinderheart instantly, sounding like she was trying to remember. "Sootkit? Rainkit, Stormkit."

Foxshadow halted mid-way down the tunnel and cocked an ear. She remembered Ravenwing, the long dead medicine cat she had sent back to the land of the living, and wondered how long it would take before he found a body he could inhabit.

"You're expecting gray kits?" asked Brindleface.

"W-well, I don't think we'll have red or tortoiseshell kits," began Cinderheart. "Since me and Ravenfeather are gray and black."

"You're a grey tortoiseshell, though," said Brindleface. "You might have red kits and tortoiseshells. You should think up some names for them."

Foxshadow nodded to herself. It was impossible for Cinderheart to give birth to a black she-cat, unless the embryos decided to switch up their cells before they started to seriously divide, which can make them look like a tortoiseshell or give them a discolored leg, tail, or spot. But Cinderheart could give birth to Squirrelflight or Alderheart or Spottedleaf or Breezepelt, or cats with those kinds of coat colors.

"Poppykit?" Cinderheart tried.

"Hollykit is a good name for a black tortoiseshell," said Goldenflower. "I wish I could have given birth to one! I almost did, but Tawnypaw- well..."

It hit her, like the strike of a sledge hammer, that Goldenflower might blame her for Tawnypaw leaving. After all, she had recommended that the older apprentices stand vigil behind the nursery, and Goldenflower had chased after them. Had Goldenflower hoped to attack Tigerclaw, to redeem herself in her own eyes, or had she hoped to convince Tawnypaw to stay? It had happened so quickly. Foxshadow wasn't sure if Goldenflower could have connected the dots so quickly, unless she was already thinking about that possibility. Foxshadow's tail twitched awkwardly, and she started to turn around to leave.

"Tawnypaw is going to be fine," said Brindleface. "Tigerclaw would never harm his own kin."

The den fell silent. It didn't need to be said that ThunderClan was Tigerclaw's kin. Leaving the Clan did not change what was in his blood. Foxshadow imagined Tawnypaw lying dead in a ditch somewhere, never to be found, never to be buried except by the walls of mud sliding ever downward on either side. It would be her fault. With a shudder, she quickly padded away.

Outside, she spotted Yellowfang entering the bramble tunnel on the opposite side of camp, and quickly ducked into the prisoner's den before the old gray cat could notice her. She waited until Yellowfang was at the entrance to the fern tunnel and just out of sight before crawling out of the prisoner's den's front entrance, so that she was standing a foxlength away from the warrior den. She entered, sniffing for Willowpelt, but she gone. When she turned around, she heard laughter and stopped, listening.

"You're going to have to be faster than that to catch a rabbit on your own," meowed Sandstorm. "And a whole lot smarter."

"I'm sure that monster enjoyed it," Fireheart grumbled. "What a waste of freshkill."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. There will be way more rabbits at Lion's Trap by now," meowed Sandstorm. "We'll hunt there today instead."

"Alright." Fireheart sounded reluctant. "Sandstorm, can I ask you a question?"

"You already did, furbrain," Sandstorm meowed, amused. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if... Well. If you're planning on having kits this season?"

"Not really," meowed Sandstorm. "It's greenleaf right now, not newleaf. Besides, I'm still trying to figure out who I'm going to have kits with."

"Okay," said Fireheart, sounding only slightly hurt. "I'll see you on the evening hunting patrol."

"See ya, deputy," Sandstorm meowed with a purr, oblivious.

 _Mousebrain_ , Foxshadow thought, amused. Now that she knew Sandstorm was waiting until newleaf before she had kits, Foxshadow decided it was time to deal with other matters.

She dragged herself out of the warrior's den, a tail length away from where Sandstorm was chewing on a young rabbit. Foxshadow waved her tail in greeting, earning a ear twitch in response. She padded towards Bluestar's den, her mind turning back to her dream, and the kit that shouldn't have died. She stopped outside the lichen curtain.

"Bluestar, may I come in?" she meowed.

When she heard no response, she guessed that Bluestar was with the apprentices on the morning hunting patrol. She padded towards the freshkill pile for a squirrel and settled down outside the entrance for Bluestar's return.

Bluestar's hunting patrol returned just before Fireheart, Sandstorm, and the others were preparing to leave for their hunting patrol. Bluestar led the four young apprentices into the camp, followed by Fernspots, Brambleclaw, and Goldenflower. The golden she-cat spotted her right away and immediately bounded over with Fernspots and Brambleclaw a tail length behind her.

"Foxshadow, you're not going to believe it!" she meowed. "Guess what Fernspots told me!"

Foxshadow lifted her head and sniffed the air, eyes widening in realization. "She's pregnant."

Goldenflower nodded, surprised.

Fernspots stepped forward, fur fluffed up. "I'm expecting Brambleclaw's kits."

"What?" Foxshadow looked between Brambleclaw and Fernspots, confused. "I didn't realize you two were so close."

"It's not like that," Brambleclaw meowed quickly, embarrassed. "You know how Patchpelt has mated with almost every she-cat in ThunderClan?"

"Except Mousefur and me," said Foxshadow, glancing at Goldenflower in amusement.

"Yeah, well, it's sort of like that," meowed Brambleclaw. "Fernspots just really wanted kits, and she asked me to sire them."

Foxshadow looked at Fernspots. "Are you going to ask every free tom in ThunderClan to sire your kits?"

"I don't know yet," she meowed, hastily. "I just really wanted kits, and I thought Brambleclaw would be the best choice."

Foxshadow wondered if Fernspots had mated this morning or yesterday, and with Brambleclaw only because of Tigerclaw threatening the nursery. And if Tigerclaw knew she would mother his grandkits, then Tigerclaw might not go after her kits. Plus, if Brambleclaw had an ounce of loyalty to the kits then he would stay in ThunderClan to protect them until they became apprentice. At least, Foxshadow hoped he would be loyal to them, considering he had no real love for Fernspots.

"It's a good think you decided to do it now," meowed Foxshadow quickly. "You're kits are probably going to be two moons old before winter starts, which is good because it means they'll have a better chance of surviving the cold, but it also means that they're going to start eating freshkill pretty soon after that."

Fernspots looked worried. "Do you think I should have waited?"

"No," Foxshadow told her. "ThunderClan needs apprentices. Besides, I'm going to be there to make sure all the kits have the best chance to survive."

"And I'll be there, too," meowed Goldenflower, with a glance at Foxshadow. "If Tigerclaw threatens the nursery again, I'll be the first to claw his throat up."

Foxshadow looked at Goldenflower in surprise, as did Brambleclaw and Fernspots, and Goldenflower self-consciously glanced at Brambleclaw, flattening her ears in guilt.

"Good," meowed Foxshadow, with a firm nod. "The more bodies in the nursery at night then the warmer it's going to be for the kits. Fernspots, Brambleclaw," she looked at the tom, "make sure any bird feathers your apprentices gather are sent to the nursery. I'll need them to line the nests and give us a little extra warmth."

Brambleclaw and Fernspots nodded. "Yes, Foxshadow."

The former deputy waved her tail in dismisal and waited for the two warriors to rejoin their loud boasting apprentices before she glanced at Goldenflower. "Are you planning on another litter?"

"No," meowed the golden she-cat. "I'm going to be a warrior and defend my Clan and kits from Tigerclaw."

"Brightface and Brambleclaw both appreciate it, I'm sure," Foxshadow told her quietly. She rose to her paws, gesturing to her half-eaten squirrel. "Could you finish this off for me? I needed to speak with Bluestar about the apprentices. I want to know how they're doing and how Fireheart's doing as a deputy."

Goldenflower nodded, whiskers twitching in amusement. "You know, everyone still thinks of you as our deputy. It's so strange having Fireheart ordering us around."

"As long as they are still listening to him," she meowed. "We can't have cats refuse to obey him just because he used to be a kittypet."

"He's kin," meowed Goldenflower firmly. "Pinestar's kin."

"Tigerclaw's kin."

"Brambleclaw's kin," Goldenflower shot back, her tail kinking over her back. "That makes him my kin."

Foxshadow twitched her whiskers, purring. "I'm glad. He's going to need your support in the long run."

Goldenflower blinked at her. "He'll have the whole support of the Clan."

"I'm sure he will," the former deputy agreed. "I'll see you later."

The golden she-cat dipped her head, waved her tail in good-bye, and padded away towards the fern tunnel. Foxshadow doubted that Yellowfang would let her inside. Amused, the massive she-cat turned away and padded towards the leader's den.

"Bluestar," she called.

"Come in," came the response.

Foxshadow nosed her way through the lichen and sat down a foxlength from Bluestar.

Foxshadow nosed her way through the lichen and sat down a foxlength away from Bluestar. The den was otherwise empty, but Foxshadow scented Fireheart, still fresh.

"What is it, Foxshadow?"

The massive she-cat shifted, wrapping her tail around her paws, as she thought about how Bluestar would react to her dream. "Last night, I recieved a dream from StarClan. We were talking about BloodClan, when they told me something disturbing. When Tigerpaw was an apprentice, he ran into a black kittypet kitten, and his mentor encouraged him to brutally assault this kit. Does that sound familiar to you?"

Bluestar's ear twitched. "Yes," she meowed. "I was there. I ordered Tigerpaw to stop and let the kittypet go."

Foxshadow nodded. "StarClan told me that Tiny, the kittypet, died shortly afterwards."

It felt hot and stuffy in the den, but Foxshadow felt a chill as she watched Bluestar stare blankly at the walls.

"Why would StarClan tell you this?" her leader asked finally, her voice stiff.

"I don't know," Foxshadow lied. "All I know is that it has something to do with BloodClan."

"Why should ThunderClan care about this BloodClan?" meowed Bluestar in the same tone.

Foxshadow felt as if Bluestar would refuse to listen to her or dismiss her if she didn't explain herself. "BloodClan was the Clan of Boulder before he joined ShadowClan. BloodClan was also the Clan of more than half of DarkClan before Brokenstar died. If they are angry at us for killing that kit, then I think StarClan believes it won't be long before they make their move. They're larger than all the Clans put together. It would be a bloodbath if they decided to attack us."

"And you think StarClan is warning us about an attack?"

Something was wrong with Bluestar, Foxshadow decided, though she didn't like the thought of it. She was not responding to the dream the same way she might have responded to a dream while she still visited the Moonstone, back when it was required for apprentices to journey there before their warrior ceremonies. Foxshadow tried to think of a reason why Bluestar might refuse a message from StarClan, and all she could think of was Bluestar's madness from the books.

"Yes, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow. "I think StarClan is warning us."

The blue-gray she-cat who looked more like a Russian Blue than a Norweigian Forest Cat stood up and gazed at her, their eyes level. "StarClan sent me a sign, a long time ago, about the face of darkness which would bathe the forest in blood. Since then, I have no seen a single cat who matches that description."

Foxshadow looked at the dirt under her paws, her thoughts turning to Brokenstar, former leader of DarkClan; Mapleshade, the face of the Dark Forest; and Darkpaw, the apprentice who had led six apprentices to their doom in an attempt to kill one who survived. Despite that, she already knew what Bluestar was getting at and couldn't help but agree with her, she just knew she shouldn't.

"Prophecies are vague for a reason, Bluestar," meowed Foxshadow, unhappy that she defending StarClan. "If StarClan spoke clearly on these matters, cats would not feel like they had to make those decisions themselves. We would become unthinking, totally dependent on StarClan to guide us, or else become lost little ducklings waddling after their other."

Bluestar lashed her tail in frustration. "A prophecy that is never fulfilled is useless to the Clans!"

"Just because you don't see it fulfilled doesn't mean it isn't fulfilled," Foxshadow meowed knowingly. "Brokenstar was the leader of DarkClan, which makes him the face of darkness, and he bathed the forest in blood when he tried to wage war on us with his Clan."

The blue-gray queen flicked her ears. "How could ThunderClan have stopped it? That was a ShadowClan problem."

"A ShadowClan problem which eventually became everyone's problem," Foxshadow meowed. "Besides, ThunderClan did have an opportunity to stop it when we invaded ShadowClan camp. If we had killed Brokenstar then, he would not have gone on to control DarkClan, and his shade wouldn't still be hanging over DarkClan even now."

"But then DarkClan wouldn't exist," meowed Bluestar.

"No, it wouldn't."

Bluestar wasn't satisfied. "But what can ThunderClan do about BloodClan?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "In a few moons, I think we'll have our answer to that. In the meantime, Brightface, Cinderheart, Fernspots, and I will be worrying over kittings."

The queen looked at Foxshadow with surprise and joy. "They're expecting?"

Foxshadow nodded. "Cinderheart and Brightface both have plans to kit soon, but Fernspots is already pregnant and will be expecting in two moons."

"This is good news," meowed Bluestar. "It will be nice to have a full nursery once more."

"And more apprentices," meowed Foxshadow, feeling relief creep into her shoulders. "Brindleface's kits can only do so much, after all."

Bluestar purred. "I hope we have enough warriors for the kits you'll be having."

The massive she-cat purred, the warm thoughts of kits nursing at her belly making her whiskers bush up.

* * *

 **A/N: Another lackluster chapter, methinks. I'm having a hard time packing my chapters full of content when all I have to look forward to for A Dangerous Path right now is the Gathering, Foxshadow's kitting, and then The Darkest Hour. These last two chapters have been preparing for The Darkest Hour, so it's not as fillery as it could be but it certainly feels like the plot is crawling. Ughhh.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	74. A Dangerous Path pt 9

**A/N: So, this took a bit. I have a lot of bad luck this November, because of one car accident and my tag being expired, along with getting sick twice, but I'm here now. Hopefully nothing bad will happen December, though considering the only reason I'm posting this right now is because I'm sick... I doubt it. I'll try to have the next chapter finished by today and uploaded sometime later this week, but we shall see how my luck plays out.  
**

 **Gamerlover41592: Bluestar is slowly losing confidence in herself, which is a precursor to some kind of madness, but we shall see if she falls over the edge. Thanks for the review!**

 **sierra: That is too far into the future right now for us to know. Besides, I don't think Foxshadow would be pleased if one of her kits got with one of Cinderheart's kits, since their dads are brothers. But one of Fernspot's kits X Foxshadow's kits is not a bad idea and might happen in the future. We shall see.**

 **ellabellu: I actually don't like waffles that much. I think the only waffles I liked were microwaveable waffles and they were soft and pancake like, which I really like. AWWW I love all those names! I might post a poll up on the names for their kits, but we'll have to wait and see.**

 **Tomoe Mami: I also cried when Swiftwind and Runningwind died and it's really a shame I didn't focus more on their deaths, but I didn't want their deaths to overshadow the apprentices'. Every cat is equal in the Clans, even if some of them are the supporting characters and others are just background characters.**

 **Shadowmist of ShadowClan: Thank you so much! I'll have to write a poll for names for the kits now. And I think Nut would be a great name for a brown cat or brown-and-black tabby. I'll have to see what coat colors I decide on and pick names based on that, then see which ones you guys like the best.**

 **Catlover49: That is totally a one night stand, lol, but it happened and I love it so much.**

 **Marrowfrost: (1) Ooo, you have my problem. Originally, all I could write were action scenes. But sometimes you have to just force yourself to slow down, preferably for only one chapter instead of a whole story arc, and that can be really hard to do when you just want to skip to the actiony bits. It takes a lot of self-control, and half the time I don't even know how I'm doing it, you know? (2) I don't think you should make him a live just for the sake of it but come up with a really cool idea of how he managed to survive where in canon he died. Like, he went soul searching and came back completely over his feelings for Bluestar. Or he came back with a kit after having a mate. Something that sounds plausible for his character and can be told in the background. It can really add something to your story if your background characters have history that can be told in stories, especially in worlds that are supposed to have stories told from mouth to mouth like the elders do for the kits.**

 **Lightningfirestar: You're welcome! Also, I think Lightningfire would make a great name for a warrior. I apologize for having never mentioned that before.**

 **ProbablyNobody: I love how you're thinking, but there's another explanation for the Tiny-Scourge conundrum I've invented. Maybe you can guess it?**

 **Blazefeather44: Thank you so much!**

 **iMayBeACatLover: Thank you so much! She's going to get some more development before the very end, that's for sure.**

* * *

The full moon hung high in the sky, bathing the whole world in silvery-white light. Foxshadow kept glancing over her shoulder, half expecting Cloudstar or Raggedstar to emerge to tell her the history of a cat who had died. Dark shadows turned black under the full moon, and shadows of cats passing through the trees seemed to gather around the ThunderClan gathering patrol like Dark Forest soldiers waiting to cut open a stray warrior from nose to tail. Foxshadow could feel the dead around her, both from StarClan and the Dark Forest, like an audience leaning forward eagerly, lusting for blood.

"Are you okay?" Dustpelt asked her, forced to trot just to stay beside her. She gave him a surprised look, and he explained; "You look like you're ready for Brokenstar to attack us."

Foxshadow shuddered from neck to tail and shook herself. "Don't even joke like that."

Dustpelt opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out and he closed it. They padded silently side by side, and Foxshadow realized her mate was struggling to keep up with her long strides. He didn't complain, and she adjusted so their pace was even.

The entire ThunderClan patrol halted at the top of the rise overlooking the Great Rock. Foxshadow stepped up beside Bluestar and squinted down at the gathered cats, looking for a familiar, battle-scarred and ragged pelt. Instead, all she saw was the long coats of the giant RiverClan cats and the broad shapes of the short ShadowClan cats. When it seemed like ThunderClan might have waited a heartbeat too long, she glanced at Bluestar and found her leader staring at her.

"Something wrong?" Foxshadow asked.

Bluestar seemed to hesitate. The blue-gray queen gazed down at the gathered cats, the silence making Foxshadow's fur prickle. Then the leader shook herself, raised her head, and finally kinked her tail over her back. As one, the ThunderClan cats descended into Fourtrees and started to mingle with the other Clans.

The former deputy stayed with Bluestar up until they started to get too close to where the Clan deputies were resting, then she peeled away and padded towards RiverClan, with Dustpelt carefully staying beside her.

"You don't have to shadow me everywhere," Foxshadow told him as she settled down and wrapped her tail around her paws. They were in front of a group of elders, only a foxlength away from Shadepelt and Whiteclaw. "I can take care of myself."

"If Tigerclaw is lurking out there, then I want to be here beside you," Dustpelt meowed, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, "where I can help defend our kits."

Foxshadow bushed up her whiskers in disapproval, giving him a knowing look to let him know she wasn't going to be fooled. Somehow, he had learned about her anxiety of sleeping alone in the nursery and decided that he wasn't going to let her a pawlength out of his sight unless it was to make dirt. He had somehow persuaded Fireheart (Foxshadow was convinced that Sandstorm had done all the persuading) to let him stand vigil behind the nursery just to keep close to her.

Though she did feel better knowing her kits' father was watching over her, he did it instead of hunting for the Clan. Leaf-bare was still a moon or two away and all the best hunters needed to do their best for the Clan. Sure, Cloudtail would now have plenty of hunting practice before snow set in, when he'd have to use his coat to his advantage, but Dustpelt was more experienced and could catch more prey for the Clan. Besides, Cloudtail still had that limp that never left him and his chipped hipbone was starting to ache from the cold.

On the other paw, Cloudtail had more time to spend with Brightface, which Foxshadow hoped meant more white kits for the Clan. And that left Foxshadow with less reason to call him out on his over protectiveness.

She turned her head to take in the sights of the Gathering and noted whenever she spotted someone from another Clan she recognized. Blackclaw was at the back with the rest of the elders, very far away from his mate, Mistyfoot, who stood with the other deputies at the foot of the Great Rock. The medicine cats gathered a few tail lengths away from the rock in a small clearing as cats gave them space, with Yellowfang and Mistleleaf sitting next to each other while the white odd-eyed she-cat spoke with the ShadowClan medicine cat. A small space was left behind for the WindClan medicine cat.

"What is taking WindClan so long?" Dustpelt groused, stretching.

Foxshadow yawned and shrugged. "Who knows?"

But the dread from before had returned, and Foxshadow realized she might have found its cause.

An incoherent yowl caused ShadowClan and RiverClan heads turned to the WindClan border, and ThunderClan cats followed their gaze. A black shape with a twisted forepaw stood at the top of the rise, another smaller black-and-dark gray shape on his back.

 _Darkpaw._

The WindClan leader picked his way slowly and carefully down the slope, carrying the former ThunderClan apprentice into the Gathering. ThunderClan surged forward, with Fireheart the first to reach them, and Willowpelt a heartbeat behind him, shoving her way through all cats to reach her grandson.

"Darkpaw!" Willowpelt half-wailed, pain in her voice and eyes at the sight of the apprentice's crippled form. She pressed into his fur, careful of his wounds but he winced at her exuberance. "My little kit."

"What happened?" asked Fireheart, a touch of authority in his voice.

Foxshadow walked more slowly, allowing the whole Clan to see the apprentice before she dared to get close enough to speak to him. When she arrived, she wordlessly gave Deadstar an impressed nod, which she hoped he might also take as gratitude for bringing her apprentice back. But she frowned at Darkpaw, her whiskers bushing up in anxiety.

The black tabby tom glanced at her before addressing Fireheart. "I was attacked but I'm better now." He looked at the ThunderClan cats silently, expression blank.

"Does this mean you're coming back to ThunderClan?" Mousefur asked, with a sharp glance at Foxshadow.

"It's good to see you again," Foxshadow forced out, the words like burrs in her throat. _What are you doing here? Why are you here?_

Darkpaw turned his head towards Great Rock looking up expectantly at Deadstar, and everyone followed his gaze.

 _Not Bluestar,_ Foxshadow thought. _Should I feel relieved?_

Bluestar lifted her head and the ThunderClan cats fell silent. "It is good to see you again, Darkpaw. ThunderClan welcomes your return."

 _We shouldn't,_ Foxshadow thought, with a glance towards Cloudtail. _I can't._

Deadstar interrupted her. "Darkpaw is here to make an announcement. He did not believe that ThunderClan would believe WindClan if we spoke for him, so he felt he had to come here himself."

Bluestar blinked in surprise at Deadstar, before looking at Darkpaw. "Is this true, Darkpaw?"

Foxshadow followed her gaze and saw Darkpaw nod. He raised his head and voice, even though ThunderClan was already gathered around him and could hear him just fine. He seemed to be speaking directly to Bluestar.

"I have decided to become a healer in WindClan," he yowled. "Barkface is growing old and there are no cats in WindClan that StarClan has chosen to replace him. I am the only cat with time to learn the herbs. Since I cannot journey to the Moonstone or to Gatherings on my own, I cannot become their medicine cat, but I will be able to teach the next medicine cat after Barkface passes on." His gaze dropped to Foxshadow. "I thought it would be better to help heal cats than to fight them."

"You can do that in ThunderClan," meowed Willowpelt, with a desperate glance up at Bluestar.

"ThunderClan has two medicine cats," Foxshadow meowed before she could stop herself. Willowpelt looked betrayed and deeply hurt. Foxshadow internally winced but pressed on, keeping her voice firm and authoritative. "I understand this must feel like losing your son all over again, Willowpelt, but Darkpaw is right. WindClan needs a healer more than ThunderClan needs another medicine cat. If he chooses to stay to help WindClan, I will support his decision." She dipped her head towards the black tabby, a knowing look in her eyes. When Bluestar said nothing, Foxshadow turned her gaze towards her leader, unable to keep the sadness out of her eyes as she watched Bluestar glance between the three of them, unsure of what to do. "It is StarClan's will."

Whether she heard the comment or not, Bluestar's confusion disappeared and she nodded with finality. "Very well. ThunderClan will respect your wishes, Darkpaw."

Foxshadow nodded at her leader in approval and support, watching her shoulders square in confidence. She could feel the ghouls watching from the shadows, as if the Dark Forest could sense the weakness her leader was suffering from and were only held back because of her, the unknown element who may or may not still have power over them while her eyes were open. Did her eyes still glow in the night? Did her mind still command the world and afterlife to work towards her own vision of reality?

The Gathering continued, with Deadstar speaking first. Foxshadow turned to Darkpaw, keeping her voice low. "Cloudpaw is a warrior now, but he's limping because of what the dog did to his hip. Ashpaw is being a royal pain and seems to be following in your pawsteps. Tawnypaw left with her father. And Snowpaw is fine."

Darkpaw blinked at her, unsure how to respond. Willowpelt licked his eyebrow.

"I thought you should know," continued Foxshadow, wanting to say something to Darkpaw, to apologize for what she had done or explain why she had to do what she did, but not knowing how to say it. "Since you probably won't see them again."

Darkpaw continued to stare at her, almost blankly. Feeling slightly hollow, Foxshadow turned away. Her mate was there, his tail lashing back and forth.

Mousefur was seated next to Fireheart, and Foxshadow wondered if she should explain herself to Mousefur and apologize for her outburst. Mousefur to Fireheart, and the current deputy of ThunderClan looked up at her, as if seeing her for the first time and seeing something terrifying.

Foxshadow felt her insides freeze.

Mousefur looked at her, looking almost ashamed. Almost. A spark of pride and defiance were in her eyes, as if part of her dared Foxshadow to say something. Foxshadow looked at them in surprise, and a sneaking suspicion wormed into her brain. She forced herself to walk after her mate.

When she returned to her spot, she looked over the heads of the smaller ThunderClan cats and saw Mousefur step up to Darkpaw and Willowpelt, her gaze intense and tone demanding. Fireheart stood beside her, watching Darkpaw. A flash of terror passed through Darkpaw and he glanced over at her, horrified, before his expression hardened into anger and he seemed almost to growl at Mousefur. That didn't make Mousefur happy. The two warriors turned away. Mousefur and Fireheart padded away, the two had lowered their heads and were meowing rapidly to each other, with Fireheart looking upset and most of his anger directed at Mousefur, who seemed to have adopted an almost defensive stance, her fur standing on end.

Foxshadow didn't have to guess to know what they were talking about. If Fireheart believed Mousefur was right about Foxshadow attacking and driving out Darkpaw, he would tell Bluestar, and Fireheart's mistrust in a former and still trusted deputy might push Bluestar over the edge. She couldn't allow Fireheart to tell Bluestar, for all their sakes. She couldn't allow Fireheart to believe she had done it. Not until after Bluestar went to StarClan.

But she couldn't stand the thought of Fireheart thinking of her like a second Tigerclaw. She had done what she did for the benefit of ThunderClan, not out of selfish ambition.

As for Mousefur, Foxshadow would never forgive her for telling Fireheart. As far as Foxshadow was concerned, everything that happened now was Mousefur's fault.

Her mate shifted beside her, burying his head in her long chest fur, and she felt her shoulders relax.

"Foxshadow!" meowed a familiar smokey black RiverClan tom.

Dustpelt bristled and stared at the former RiverClan deputy. "Blackclaw."

The black tom dipped his head. "Dustpelt."

Startled, the brown ticked tabby dipped his head in return, flicking his ear.

Foxshadow purred. "Hello, Blackclaw."

"Have you decided on names for the kits?" Blackclaw meowed, voice brisk and almost commanding. Dustpelt bristled.

"We have a few names," Foxshadow meowed. "Dustpelt wanted the kits named Snakekit and Badgerkit, but I thought those names were too common, so I decided on Viperkit for a she-cat and Brockkit for a tom."

The elder nodded. "They are good names." He looked at Dustpelt. "All of them."

Dustpelt blinked in gratitude.

Blackclaw looked thoughtful. "What if you have two toms or two she-cats?"

Foxshadow shifted, glancing at Dustpelt. "I was think we could call the second she-cat or second tom Forestkit."

Dustpelt looked at her. "I've never heard of a Forestkit or Forestpaw before."

"It is an interesting name," Blackclaw agreed.

"I have a few others in mind," Foxshadow added. "Like Swampkit, Marshkit, and Earthkit. But I won't know if I'll ever use them."

"You are prepared to have more than four kits." It wasn't a question. The stoic tom almost looked worried. He nodded his understanding, his voice becoming hesitant. "I wish you luck then."

A dark shadow seemed to pass over all of them, swift as a cat striking. Foxshadow shivered, and Dustpelt pressed into her. "I'm sure I'll be fine, Blackclaw. My kitting won't kill me."

* * *

 **A/N:** **I'm starting to ship Deadstar X Foxshadow just because he's such a bada$$. Sorry, Dustpelt.**

 **Anyway, I've decided we are going to have a slight name competition! I need you, my reviewers and followers, to send me unique and rarely used full warrior names that are designed specifically to match these kits' coat colors. You may also choose who the kit might be born to, as long as the coat color matches what kits the parents can have! Here's a basic rundown of the kits we can expect from our current litters (sans Foxshadow's kits since I've already got names for them and have for years).** **  
**

 **So, we have Ravenfeather's and Cinderheart's kits. Since he's a black tom and she's a pale tortoiseshell, their kits can be a dark red or cream tom, black-and-red or gray-and-cream tortoiseshell, black or gray tom, or a black or gray she-cat. Some of them can have white spotting, like their father. They can have blue or green eyes. We are going to have four kits total with her litter, so have fun with it.  
**

 **Then we have Fernspots and Brambleclaw, a grey spotted tabby and a brown striped tabby. Since the parents have amber and green eyes, their kits can have basically any eye color you want them to have.** ** **Fernspots has some minor white spotting so a few of her kits can have some white spots.** Their kits will be light gray, gray, dark gray, or black. The majority of them will be striped tabbies, with some black tabbies being black-and-brown, like Tigerclaw. A few can be spotted tabbies and a few can be without tabby markings. Can be either male or female, regardless of coat color. We are going to have three Tigerstar grandkits, so go crazy with the names. We might have one more in the litter if there are enough good names, but I'm not expecting much.  
**

 **Then we have Brightface and Cloudtail's kits, which will mostly be their own canon kits since their kits coats match up with their parents' genetics so well. Since there is so much to go over with their genetics, I decided to make this a little easier on everyone. I just want to change Ambermoon's name. Every time I see it, all I can think of Honeymoon as a warrior name. I just can't take it seriously.**

 **For those of you interested in Cloudtail and Brightface's genetics, here they are; Cloudtail is a red tom with the totally dominant white masking gene, which means half his kits may also have the white masking gene. Brightface is a calico she-cat with no black showing since her injury, and most of her body is covered in white which means all of her kits will have some white on their fur, though not to same degree that she has. Neither of them are dilute/pale so all the kits will be dark and both have green eyes. But their base genetics are a red tom and a tortoiseshell. This means that they can have black-and-red tortoiseshell, red she-cat, red tom, and black tom. All will have some white and roughly half may be full white. I will not be needing names for these two except for Ambermoon. She needs a new suffix.  
**

 **ANYWAY, now that I've openned the floodgates... send in all your suggestions AND the coat colors and eye colors that you think they should have! Make sure they match up with their parent's genetics! If you don't know what they should look like, then just leave a few names. The names should begin with English and American animals, plants, objects, and landscapes that can be easily found in the wild. This means that Moose, Marmot, Hog, Crane, Creek, Beech, Puffin, etc., are all available for use as prefixes if you like them enough. Even different English and American words for the same animal would be great! Go crazy (but not too crazy)!  
**

 **I will choose which names I like the best, so here are some tips on how to get selected; the animal you use as a name and the cat have similar colors, the cat has realistic coat colors, and the cat has a very unique name. I would recommend not creating personalities for them because you might get attached to them and then you will not like the personalities that I give them. Remember, only eight names are going to be picked for the story, so not everyone is going to win. And just because you're first to review doesn't mean your names are going to be picked. Think long and hard about your names before you post them. I'm looking for the most unique, interesting, and rarest names you can think of!**

 **Remember, this is just to have fun and to see what names we can all come up with that we haven't ever seen before! All the best names will be put in the polls for their specific litters so people can vote on them! The winners will have their names featured in this story before the very end.  
**

 **And, of course, thanks to everyone who wants to participate! I hope to see you submit your unique names.**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, or review! I hope you guys loved this chapter and I hope I can post the next one soon!**


	75. A Dangerous Path pt 10

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long!** **There is a long story behind that, too. In short; Hertz rental company is about as recommended as eating a pile of foxdung. They have terrible customer service, will rob you blind, and fail to properly file anything. If you need a car, borrow a relative's or literally anyone besides Hertz. Boycott them.**

 **On the plus side, I am finally getting a new job which I'll be starting at the end of this month, and** **I finally got a new computer and I'm using Linux which hopefully means no more viruses.** **So, that's three computers I've used to write this story. Yay? Lets hope this one doesn't end up out of commission because of viruses or bad programming.  
**

 **Now, back to last chapter... I want to work with you guys on some of those names you guys came up with. You guys are really creative and half of the prefixes you submitted I had never even heard about before. But the suffixes were pretty common for the most part, so I wanted to see if you guys were okay with some of the suggestions I had for them. Hope you guys approve!**

 **I'll be posting the first poll after I get all your responses in. The first poll will feature Brambleclaw and Fernspots', and you guys will be able to pick the top four names you like the most. The four names with the highest votes will be the winners of the challenge. The second poll, which will be posted after the next chapter is posted, will feature Ravenfeather's and Cinderheart's kits!  
**

* * *

 **Gamelover41592: Thank you so much! Things are about to get shakier for Foxshadow so watch out!** **Next book is going to filled with a ton of new subplots, which I hope will make up for this book's lameness. Wish me luck!**

 **Fala: Aw, thank you so much!** **Though I would be careful – some of the fanfics around here are really bad. (0)** **I love Scarletswirl, it's perfect,** **though I** **really like the prefix Amber for** **Bright's canon kit, j** **ust not -moon.** **But because I like the name so much, I might just add her to BrightCloud's litter.** **(1) Wolfsong is great, too, even though I think it might** **be a bit too common.** **(2) As for Spiritshadow, I fell in love with Spirit-, but I kind of want to combine Spirit- with -gaze, because I think Spiritgaze is an amazing and unique name.** **I also want to change his appearance a little;** **I envisioned a black tom with maybe white paws and pale moon-white eyes that glow in the dark, kind of like Foxshadow's does,** **but he's also blind though he can see spirits** **. I can understand if you don't want to change his appearance or his name, especially if your deadset on his amber eyes. I just really fell in love with him to the point where I want to write a oneshot on him or have him** **be** **a secondary character in a future fanfic. I am totally trying to twist your emotional arm here, lol, sorry.** **The choice is yours!**

 **Marrowfrost: Okay, I think my favorite names are Sloethorn, Mottlemask, Timbertooth, and I absolutely love Springbloom. But I don't like Springbloom as Ambermoon's other name. I think she should be her own character. What do you think her coat color should be? I think she should be black-and-red** **or maybe cream-and-gray** **.**

 **Littlr: I love Fenkit because it reminds me of Fenberry, an item I would pick up tons of in NeverwinterNights. I think she'll be gray-and-cream and one of Cinderheart's kits. I also love Minkkit and I think Minkskip** **or Minkbounce** **would be a great warrior name. They'd probably be black-and-brown striped tabby and one of Brambleclaw's kits. What do you think? Does that sound good to you?**

 **Radiant Celestial Aura: I love Snapperkit. It's a very good RiverClan name, I'll admit, lol. What do you think of Snapperfish? Or Snapperjaw? As a grey tom? Then, I also like the idea of Lynxblitz, which combines two names you gave me. What do you think of that for a spotted black-and-brown tabby she-cat with large white paws and white chest? As one of Brambleclaw's kits?**

 **Queens and Snakes: I love Bubblekit, and I think Bubblecloud would be a great warrior name for Cinderheart's kit. And I also really love Gracklekit, but I'm not looking for kits for Cloudtail and Brightface. How about I make him Brambleclaw's and Fernspots' kit? Also, do you think Grackletalon would be a good warrior name for him or would you prefer Gracklebeak?** **I think Gracklebeak would be more unique, but that's just me.**

 **Mapl3 Syrup:** **You have a lot of unique names that I really like.** **I really liked Cottontail** **(though maybe Cottonwood, like the tree? Or maybe Cottonmouth, like the snake?)** **and Palmbreeze. I really like puns or references to real life animals and phrases. I liked Cypress-, Conifer-, Pecan-, and Racoon- but I wasn't a fan of any of the suffixes. Too common and** **ordinary** **. So, what about Cypressflood? Conifercone? Coniferseed?** **Pecanshell?** **Racooonmask? You can say no to these if you want or come up with new suffixes on your own. As long are you have fun!**

 **ellabellu: I really like Azaleafall. Also, you mention that "Umber is a shade of brown" but then you didn't make a name involving Umber-. Can you give me a name and I can use that "bulky brown tabby tom with amber eyes" description for him? I personally would like Umberbark** **or Umberdusk** **, but it's up to you.** **The suffx -flame is already being used by another name that was suggested.**

 **Plutodragon: Sorry, but I'm going to say no to Batkit mostly because I think I already have a Batwing running around right now but also because you've given me her personality. I mentioned in the rules that I didn't want anyone submitting cats with personalities because I know you guys are attached to them and I won't be able to change them. I want as much creative freedom as possible with these characters, which is why I only asked for names** **and descriptions** **.** **If you can find any creative, new or bizarre prefixes and suffixes that you like used together, then submit them and tell me what you want them to look like!**

 **sierra: I like Basil- and I like -shard but I don't think Basilshard works for me. Let me think of something... How about Boneshard (a pale cream tom) and** **Basilstalk** **or Basilfrond (a gray she-cat with bright green eyes)?** **I could make both of them RavenCinder's kits.** **What do you think of those?**

 **ProbablyNobody: I'm so glad you noticed, lol. Mousefur is definitely doing what Fireheart should be doing right now, and she's awakened him to some suspicions of Foxshadow. It's going to be fun see what happens** **next** **. (1) I like Clay- but I think Claypath would be better than Clayfang. And Fallenspirit looks exactly like what I** **think** **Spiritgaze (someone else's name idea)** **would** **look like, lol. I like Fallen-, so if you can come up with some good suffixes for her that would be great.** **Fallenpine, maybe** **...? (2) Mountain- is a great prefix, but how about Mountaintop?** **Or Mountainsnow?** **(3) I really like Prickleclaw, so I'll add him to the poll list.**

 **Blazefeather44: Foreststar may or may not be leader of ThunderClan in the future, lol.**

 **WolfWriter123: Wow, I like a lot of these names, especially Sheepcloud and Doewhisper. I would like to see Sheepcloud as a black-and-white cat, if that's alright? I think that Thistle-** **would** **be** **great as** **Thistleburr, like Tangleburr, and that Arch-** **could** **be either Archlog,** **Archbridge,** **or Archbranch, whichever you prefer.**

 **Stormbreeze: Lol, it all depends on personal taste, I suppose. I have reasons for all their names, though, so.**

 **Catlover49: It really depends on what you call eyebrows. Are eyebrows just the dark hair over our eyes or is it also the muscles moving underneath that can help us make expressions? Because if it's the latter, then cats definitely have eyebrows.** **But if its the former, then one could argue that a cat's eyebrows are marked by its whiskers.**

 **Lightningfire: I really like Wildfire, Aspenleaf, Blizzardfrost, Boulderfall,** **and** **Fawnleap.** **But to make them more interesting, I think Wildfire could be Wildblaze, and Boulderfall could be Boulderdust. Would that be alright?**

 **Nyxie Is A Gamer Nerd: Yup, Foxshadow is really tempting fate, lol.**

 **Th3DoomSlay3r: Yup, Tiny is dead, but perhaps Scrouge is not, hm?**

 **FitzSophie: Thank you so much! And, after combining names for a little bit, I think Nightshine might be cool, especially with the description you gave her.**

 **LilyFox11: On top of a broken leg, Darkpaw is having to deal with only half a tail, a clawed up face, and PTSD/a deep fear of leaving WindClan territory and finding someone there that's waiting to kill him. When he does get over his fear, he'll have to try and convince Deadstar he's ready to leave the territory for trips to the Moonstone, and Deadstar isn't likely to believe him until a fully trained medicine cat, who is accepted by StarClan and thus has the full medicine cat name, determines Darkpaw is fit to leave. On top of that, Deadstar will always remember that Darkpaw used to be a ThunderClan cat and was training to be a warrior.**

* * *

A canopy of red, orange and brown leaves greeted her one cold afternoon when she stuck her nose out of the nursery. A stiff breeze rustled the leaves, and a few fell from the sky in makeshift tornadoes, spinning to the ground below.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the highrock for a Clan meeting! It is time one of our apprentices was made a warrior."

Foxshadow squeaked when a quarter pregnant Cinderheart scrambled out of the den, eyes bright with excitement. The gray-and-cream she-cat quickly meowed an apology before vanishing into the gathering crowd of cats. Foxshadow licked the side of her stomach ruefully, trying to get the uncomfortable twinge in her belly to settle. A moon pregnant ginger-and-white she-cat touched noses with her apologetically before squeezing passed her and out of the den.

"Serves me right for blocking the entrance," Foxshadow meowed loudly, earning an amused ear flick from Brightface who flashed back a grin and hurried after her den-mate.

"Move over some more," Fernspots mumbled tiredly, waddling up beside her with an uncomfortable look on her face. She was a moon and a half pregnant, not as round as Foxshadow but she couldn't walk properly anymore either. Or squeeze through the same small spaces as before.

Foxshadow leaned heavily to the side to let her through. The former deputy was a lot bigger around than she really thought she should be, and she guessed that that was because she wasn't carrying just one litter of kits. Silently cursing herself for playing with Dustpelt two nights in a row, Foxshadow kicked out her hindlegs and half-dragged, half-forcing herself out of the nursery to watch the ceremony.

"Snowpaw has proven his trustworthiness to ThunderClan again and again over the last two moons," meowed Bluestar. "So, he was allowed to hunt on his own today. He discovered something which I'm sure is good news to the Clan."

Bluestar gestured with her tail to the fully grown tom. He lifted his head and scanned the cats with his pale green eyes, trying to look as many cats in the eye while also sitting up straighter.

"I traveled southeast across the territory to Snakerocks, where the dogs had once set up their camp," he began, his voice barely shaking at the mention of dogs, "and discovered a few plump rabbits. I couldn't catch them, and they disappeared into the bushes. I thought I might be able to see them if I climbed a maple tree, and I looked around the area. I could see all the way to Lion's Trap, where I saw more rabbits. When I climbed down, I landed right on top of one, and brought it right back."

"We can take a patrol there right away," meowed Dustpelt, leaping to his paws and lashing his tail.

Bluestar's tail twitched. "That is a good idea," she meowed. "But first thing's first." She looked at Snowpaw. "I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Do you, Snowpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Snowpaw lifted his head high. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on, you will be known as Snowstorm. StarClan honors your enthusaism and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

She leaped down from the highrocks and padded towards the tom to rest her muzzle on his head. He bent forward to lick her shoulder. The Clan burst into cheers.

"Snowstorm! Snowstorm! Snowstorm!"

Brightface and Cinderheart disappeared into the cats that rushed forward to congratulate Snowstorm. Close to the highrock, Cloudtail's white fluffy tail stood out, like a white flag, as he stood close to Snowstorm's blue-tinted slightly less-fluffy tail. A tom emerged from the crowd, drawing her attention.

Dustpelt gave her a loving headbutt and they rubbed cheeks, purring. "I'll bring you and our kits back the largest rabbit in the forest!"

She purred back. "I know you will. Bring Cloudtail with you. He's great at standing still and killing anything that walks up to him."

Dustpelt twitched his whiskers reproachfully. "He needs to pick up the slack."

"He has an injured hip," meowed Foxshadow, suddenly stern. "You can't ask Thornclaw to be fearless climbing trees because of his tail, and you can't ask Cinderheart to run without a wobble because of her leg. Don't make Cloudtail an exception just because he's half-kittypet."

The brown tabby's lips twitched into a frown and his brow furrowed. "Okay," he managed to force out.

Foxshadow nodded. "He has the best nose in ThunderClan, Dustpelt. Encourage it before you push him away forever."

He gave her a look. "I'm not going to be his father."

"I'm not asking you to be," she meowed. "But he looks up to you because you're my mate. You can't change that. Just do your part as a warrior of ThunderClan and his senior to encourage him to keep doing his best. He doesn't deserve discouragement after nearly being killed trying to prove himself to the Clan."

She looked at him hopefully, willing Dustpelt to agree with her. He seemed to soften and she purred as he touched her nose.

"Okay," he meowed. "Just don't expect me to be his Fireheart."

Foxshadow blinked and purred. "I would never expect you to be him."

* * *

 _The night burned in silver light as chilly wet fog rolled into the forest of dreams she had grown more and more accustom to over the last moon and a half._

 _Five cats she didn't recognize greeted her in her usual place of judgment. She was at the top of a slope which looked exactly like the one at Lion's Trap, looking down into the crescent moon shaped dip at the StarClan cats._

" _Why are you here?" There was no point in asking who they were. Their fur was so bright with stars that she knew they had to have only been recently dead, and yet she knew they also could not have been because she didn't recognize them. That meant they could only be_ _the five founders._

 _A_ _white tom stepped forward, his ice-blue eyes glaring up at her. He had a nick in his ear and the long legs his Clan was known for. "Why do you get to judge every cat that has every lived?_ _We've been around longer and we've had more experience with how the Clans work. You're just a twoleg pretending to be a cat._ _"_

" _Clear Sky," she responded, claws out. "If you have a problem with the arrangement, you can take it up with the rest of SkyClan. The deal was made, and I have no intention of reversing it."_

 _A_ _bright red and white tom stepped forward, his warm orange eyes clouded with uncertainty. "We expected that your powers, once given to us, would serve all of us. We did not know you would simply regain your power every_ _night in_ _StarClan."_

" _I was not_ _aware_ _of that, Thunderstar,_ _before the deal was made,_ _" meowed Foxshadow. "But I can promise you that I have no more control over the living."_

" _Only the dead," meowed a black she-cat_ _with a hiss_ _._

" _And you expect me to do what_ _about that_ _, Shadowstar?"_ _Foxshadow narrowed her sun-gold eyes and stared at each of the founders evenly. "_ _Have you come here when you aren't ready to talk? Are you here to only whine and complain about your own failings to understand my power?"_

 _Thunderstar stepped forward, catching her attention. "It's true we don't understand your power anymore than you do," he meowed, "but that alone should be all you need to know to comprehend why we had to take it away from you."_

" _But not enough for me to understand why you're here to complain," snapped Foxshadow. "_ _The power is exactly where it should be, where it can be controlled and put to good use. If you have an actual complaint against me and the way I use it, s_ _peak now or forever hold your peace._ _Otherwise, take your kit-like complaints elsewhere._ _"_

 _Skystar hissed. "You have no respect for_ _any of the_ _leaders of these Clans."_

" _I have no respect," Foxshadow meowed, tone suddenly even, "for cats who think they know everything and somehow deserve everyone's respect simply because they have nine lives. StarClan may accept these leaders, the Clans may accept StarClan's choice, but a leader must truly earn the Clan's respect if he or she is ever going to earn mine."_

" _And what of the leaders that have earned their Clan's respect?" Skystar's fur puffed up._

" _Skystar," interrupted a massive silver-and-black tabby, pelt rippling_ _with light,_ _"_ _perhaps you should give a more specific example."_

 _But Thunderstar beat him to it. "What have you done to Oakstar?"_

" _I gave him a second chance at life," meowed Foxshadow, "instead of sending him to the Dark Forest where he belongs."_

 _The red-and-white tom looked startled. "But I thought he was going to StarClan?"_

" _I will repeat to you what I said to him," meowed Foxshadow, "_ 'It is a complicated thing. If you weren't a leader, you'd be in the Dark Forest already. But because you were, you obeyed the warrior code, because the warrior code says, "The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code". That is why you were in StarClan, instead of punished like you deserved'. _" She gazed at the five founders, eyes glittering angrily. "If I had left him in StarClan, I would also have to_ _send_ _Brokenstar and Tigerstar to StarClan, regardless of their crimes committed while_ _they were_ _leaders of_ _their_ _Clan_ _s_ _. The only way that I could have sent them to the Dark Forest was if they had_ _committed crimes_ _as warriors before they had become leaders."_

" _And they both have," Skystar meowed, wrapping his tail smugly around his paws._

" _Yes," meowed Foxshadow, "and then they started to change the warrior code to suit them so that the crimes they previously committed were no longer against the warrior code. Such as making a law that kits could be made warriors at six moons, or making a law that says there can never be a deputy." She blinked at her own words, wondering how she could have known that, but simultaneously forgetting it. Was this part of the deal? She could only remember StarClan business while in StarClan?_ _Had she asked herself this question before?_

" _What are you suggesting StarClan do?" meowed Riverstar. "We cannot refuse a leader that the Clan expects to be made leader."_

" _The Clan trusts you to protect them from leaders like Tigerstar and Brokenstar," Foxshadow meowed. "I have made it so that no cat can receive their lives from the Dark Forest. You_ _no longer have to worry about them making leaders. You have the_ _right to refuse_ _a deputy_ _if you are not satisfied_ _that_ _they have earned the Clan's respect or will respect the warrior code put forth by you and everyone who came after you."_ _She paused, gathering her thoughts. "_ _You have the right to speak to a medicine cat and inform them of your choice for leader_ _and to defend that choice from any who might oppose your medicine cat's word_ _."_

 _T_ _he five founders exchanged glances. Riverstar meowed. "I repeat, we cannot refuse a leader that the Clan expects to be made leader."_

 _Foxshadow lashed her tail. "If the Clan does not respect the deputy or would not respect the deputy if his crimes were revealed, what makes you think the Clans will expect you to make them leader?"_

 _Riverstar stared at her thoughtfully before he finally nodded, ears open._

" _When a leader abuses the warrior code and claims to be the warrior code, he has overstepped his bounds. You, as StarClan cats, are tasked with watching over the Clan and ensuring that criminals such as Brokenstar and Tigerstar never gain their nine lies," meowed Foxshadow, "among your other self-appointed responsibilities. That is what I want you to do. Take care of your Clans by ensuring that they know you have final say in who you give your nine lives to. Make those with wicked hearts fear the penalty for crossing you."_

 _They absorbed her words quietly, occasionally glancing at each other, silently communicating in a way that only cats who had lived since the dawn of the Clans could._

 _Finally, the_ _dusky light brown tabby she-cat lifted her head. "_ _This doesn't answer the question of_ _why_ _you did_ _this to_ _Oakstar," meowed Windstar. "Why did you think that was the only solution to the problem?"_

" _I have to be consistent," meowed Foxshadow, "and I have to judge cats based on the warrior code. When I am forced to put bad cats into StarClan because of a flaw with the warrior code, the only thing I can do is send someone who feels guilty for what they have done back to fix the problem they exploited. I do not have the power to visit other's dreams. I leave that to StarClan."_

 _A_ _fter a heartbeat, their fur started to relax. Thunderstar nodded. "We accept your reasoning, and your decision, Foxshadow. But, from now on, we would like to judge these cats alongside you._ _If another case like this shows up, we want to be present for it._ _"_

 _Foxshadow dipped her head. "I would_ _n't_ _have it any other way._ _In fact, I've been waiting for you to help me since I began this job a long time ago. You of all cats deserve a say in what happens to the Clan's future._ _"_

* * *

Foxshadow started awake at the feel a pain in her stomach. She twisted away and licked the offending patch of fur, belatedly realizing that she hadn't spoke to Raggedstar about Scourge or Tiny. With a yawn, she finally forced herself to her paws, struggling around her pregnant belly and waddling to her now regular spot at the entrance to the nursery. She put her head in her paws and scanned the clearing, her eyes landing on Slatepaw, Fernspots' former apprentice. After Fernspots moved to the nursery, the gray she-cat had been given to Mousefur to train. Her thoughts turned to the gathering, and Mousefur and Fireheart whispering to each other. Foxshadow didn't like the idea of her telling Slatepaw about what she knew.

Goldenflower padded up from behind Foxshadow, laying down in the entrance to watch Cinderheart pad towards the freshkill pile, halt, then padded away without prey. Foxshadow winced at a suddenly pain in her stomach and shifted on her paws.

"She should have stayed in the warrior's den for another moon," the golden tabby meowed, resting her head in her paws. "She has too much energy."

"Hmmm," Foxshadow agreed. "It got cold fast this season."

"'Season'?" Goldenflower tilted her head before she shrugged. "Yes, I suppose so."

"The snow today keeps the warmth down here," Foxshadow continued absently, "but when it isn't cloudy, all the warmth disappears and its dry freezing so the ground gets cold before it gets frosty. The cold burns to the touch."

Goldenflower hummed thoughtfully. "You think about stuff a lot. How do you find time for it?"

"I make time," Foxshadow responded. "If you don't make time for things, you'll never do anything more than what you're already doing."

"I'm not one of your apprentices, you know," Goldenflower chastised, letting out a low purr at her wince.

"Sorry," she meowed. "I guess I wish I had Slatepaw as an apprentice right now."

"Mousefur will take care of her," meowed Goldenflower. "I think it was good of Bluester to give her to a senior warrior. I don't think the other mentors have enough experience to not have someone helping them out."

"I've always believed that Mousefur would make a good deputy," meowed Foxshadow, ignoring a memory of her recent dislike of the ticked tabby. "And I can't really say anything bad of her since she's my sister-in-law. But... I guess I just want to be a warrior again soon."

"You'll be able to become a warrior again in three moons," Goldenflower reassured her. "Even if you're still sleeping in the nursery near your kits."

"It's not soon enough," the massive she-cat meowed, stretching her forelimbs and kneading her aching paws on air. Her stomach twitched uncomfortably again, and she shifted her hindpaws. "There's a whole world out there that's always changing. How am I going to know how to deal with our new enemies if I can't face them right now?"

"The Clan will protect us," meowed Goldenflower. "We're safe here."

Foxshadow's thoughts turned to StarClan. "We are never safe."

A golden tail flicked into her mouth. "Don't talk like that!" Goldenflower looked worried and confused. "The Clan will protect us. And even if they can't, I'm here. I'll make sure your kits are safe."

Foxshadow purred softly. "I know the Clan will do their best, but there are some things that even they can't protect us from."

Goldenflower slowly flattened her ears and turned to look outside. "I don't know what you've seen outside of the Clan, but we've never had to deal with anything that bad before. StarClan protects us from the worst of it."

"It's StarClan that I'm worried about." She winced at the blank look the yellow queen gave her. "I'm sorry. My stomach is hurting me a lot today."

"It's okay," Goldenflower meowed, the edge of a worried frown on her lips. "You're almost due."

Foxshadow felt her stomach twitch again, and she shifted again, groaning. "I think the kits are coming tonight."

"Just relax." Goldenflower rose to her paws. "I'll see if Yellowfang's around."

Foxshadow felt a flash of panic. "Can you get Mistleleaf instead?" She blinked at Goldenflower. "I trust her more."

The golden tabby looked uncertain but nodded her understanding. Relieved, Foxshadow stretched out in shade of the nursery entrance, letting her eyes scan the camp one last time. Her eyes landed on Slatepaw.

As if she was being summoned, the gray she-cat took that as her cue to approach her, padding purposefully across the camp to join her at the entrance to the nursery. Foxshadow watched with bemusement as the apprentice inserted herself into the space beside the queen and looked up at her with wide eyes blue eyes. They stared at each other in a silence that grew slightly awkward the longer Slatepaw studied Foxshadow.

At last, Slatepaw meowed, "Did you really attack Darkpaw?"

"What?" Foxshadow's fur fluffed up in shock.

"Did you really attack Darkpaw and drive him out of ThunderClan and give him those horrible wounds?"

Foxshadow's ear flicked in irritation. "Wounds that are just about as horrible as Thornclaw's, Brightface's, and Cinderheart's?"

Slatepaw thought about it. "Yeah," she admitted. "Maybe that's why StarClan thought it was okay."

"Hurting other cats is never okay, even if StarClan might agree with the punishment," Foxshadow meowed sternly in response. "And anyone who would accuse a warrior of attacking an apprentice, especially their own apprentice, better have some serious proof to back that up." She licked her chest fur, feeling ruffled. "Why do you ask?"

Slatepaw hesitated, looked a little off balance. "I heard Mousefur and Fireheart talking at the Gathering. Mousefur said she thinks you attacked Darkpaw."

The former deputy's heart hammered in her chest. "Did she have any proof?"

"Not really," admitted Slatepaw, looking a little awkward. "But Harrierpaw said if it really bothered Mousefur so much, she would have confronted you about it. So… I thought I'd confront you about it."

Foxshadow gave a small purr, subdued after the heavy topic Slatepaw decided to bring up… and the teaching moment she was going to turn it into. "Slatepaw, if I had been the one to attack Darkpaw, do you really think it is wise to tell me that I'm under investigation? If I really did it, I would be able to destroy whatever evidence they do come up with or have counter evidence ready to back me up or have someone claim I was somewhere else when it happened."

It felt strange telling Slatepaw to think about her actions before confronting people about their crimes, when Foxshadow was guilty of a crime Slatepaw was confronting her about. But Slatepaw needed to understand that she shouldn't confront potentially bad cats about crimes they might have committed.

"My point is, Slatepaw," continued Foxshadow, "that you shouldn't have told me any of this. If I really was evil, no one would know it because I would be preparing to make Mousefur out to be a fool so I can stay in ThunderClan where I could harm more ThunderClan cats."

Slatepaw looked confused. "But I don't think you're evil."

"No one thought Tigerclaw was evil either. Everyone believed he was a strong and noble deputy of ThunderClan. But he murdered a former deputy for the position, and he was banished for it."

The apprentice was still unconvinced. "But aren't you worried that Mousefur might convince everyone you're bad?"

Foxshadow purred at Slatepaw's faith in her. "I trust Fireheart will find the truth no matter what."

Slatepaw tilted her head. "But not Bluestar?"

Foxshadow started at the innocent comment, feeling her ears burn as she realized Slatepaw had unwittingly accused her of having no faith in Bluestar's decision making abilities. "Bluestar entrusts that responsibility to Fireheart, Slatepaw. By trusting Fireheart, I am trusting Bluestar." _Against my better judgment,_ she silently added with a twitch of her whiskers. Bluestar's uncertainty in leading them into the last Gathering had made her start wondering if Bluestar was losing her mind, just like in canon. "Shouldn't you be on a hunting patrol?"

Slatepaw pouted, puffing out her whiskers and jutting her jaw forward. "I'm not allowed on hunting patrols until Mousefur is satisfied that I can catch a worm _properly_."

The queen snorted a laugh. "Mousefur sounds like a tough mentor."

"Yeah," Slatepaw said, unhappily. "I wish Fernspots was my mentor again."

"But sometimes cats need tough mentors," Foxshadow meowed. "They can turn you from merely good warrior to great ones."

The apprentice wrinkled her nose. "You sound like Mousefur."

Foxshadow couldn't help a purr. "Regardless of her opinions of me, Mousefur has always shown potential to be a good deputy and mentor. She is a good warrior, even if she still has room to grow."

"But not a 'great' warrior."

Foxshadow felt her mood start to spoil. "Cheek," she responded, forcing the good-natured humor to stay in her voice. "Now, go tell your brother, and then tell him he's silly for assuming stuff like that."

Slatepaw huffed playfully. "I'm gonna tell him you said that!" Then she ran off, heading towards her dark tabby brother.

A frown quickly spread across her features. Rumors of her attacking Darkpaw would spread rapidly through the Clan thanks to the apprentices, and she couldn't imagine what Cloudtail's reaction would be if he ever found out and discovered the rumors had a kernal of truth to them. Foxshadow rose to her paws and staggered out of the nursery, blinking at the sun high over her head. She saw her son pad into camp, a hitch in one of his hindlegs the only sign of his wound, and a scrawny weasel dangling from his jaws.

"Cloudtail!" she called, bounding across the camp. She gave the dead predator a sniff, purring. "What an excellent catch you have there! Hope you're planning to share it."

The white tom gave a purr and dropped his catch. "I was planning to give it to Dustpelt."

Foxshadow fluffed up her whiskers. "I doubt he'll eat it. He's so traditional. But I'm sure he'll be impressed you killed it." She glanced around and lowered her voice. "I want to talk with you about something."

"Oh," he meowed, glancing down at the weasel.

"After you show Dustpelt and Fireheart your catch, of course," she meowed, not wanting to delay Cloudtail from gaining Dustpelt's approval despite feeling her paws itch with need to tell him about Darkpaw right now. "I just want to tell you about what really happened to-" A spasm of pain shot up her stomach, causing her to gasp.

Cloudtail's eyes widened in shock, and he leaned forward to gently, nervously touch noses with her. "Are you all right?"

"J-just some labor pain," she managed to choke out. Surely StarClan wouldn't delay her telling Cloudtail about what happened? Before Mousefur or Fireheart could? It seemed to ease after a moment and she said. "I wanted to tell you about D-" Another painful spasm interrupted her.

"Foxshadow?" Cloudtail's tail started to lash in his rising panic. "Maybe I should get Yellowfang?"

"No! Not Yellowfang." Foxshadow fought the pain and looked at her son with a pained, pleading expression. "Find Mistleleaf. Goldenflower-"

Foxshadow barely heard Cloudtail race away, yowling for help, as she collapsed from the pain, feeling like her legs had turned to water.

* * *

 **A/N:** **I have a lot of plans right now for another story not in the warrior cats universe. It's been calling to me for years. So, I think that, after I'm finished The Legend Begins, I'm going to step away from the Legacy Series to spend time working on T0RN. After that, I can get back to SkyClan's Return, The Medicine Cat's Secret, and Forestfire's Loyalty.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! If you guys are fine with any changes I make to your character, let me know right away! I'm going to have the poll up before I post the next chapter.**


	76. A Dangerous Path pt 11

**A/N:** **Okay, so, I still need confirmation from Wolf and Ella about whether or not they are okay with me making changes to their kit's names. Are Umberdusk and Thistleburr okay with you guys?**

 **Gamelover41592: Thank you so much!**

 **Lightningfire-star: Thank you so much!**

 **Fala: Thank you! I am so excited to see Spiritkit in action. He and Forestkit are going to be best friends.**

 **Marrowfrost: Thanks a bunch! Now, that I really think about it, cream and gray are much better Spring colors. (2) You know, what I would recommend is try to incorporate all the different stories into one big story. Or try to use the new ideas for subplots instead of creating whole new stories from them. That's what I try to do, but sometimes it's hard to do because some of my different ideas are just full on different stories that don't work together or overlap with each other.**

 **Th3DoomSlay3r: Lol, yeah, I'm terrible with these ever since my outline went up in smoke.**

 **Plutodragon: No, no, you're not. You were just a little over excited. Do you have any good new and unique names for black or gray cats, red or cream toms, or red-and-black or gray-and-cream tortoiseshell?**

 **Catlover49: Ohhh boy! Hope you didn't die! So sorry for the late update.**

 **Mapl3 Syrup: Thank you so much!**

 **ProbablyNobody: Fallenrain sounds perfect! (2) I love it when people point out those little details. I feel so accomplished. Thank you so much!**

 **Goldey9058: Hello! You're not the first person who said that, lol, but I'm afraid I've never read the Hunger Games. So, reference not intended, lol? (2) Is she? She seems so convinced of it that you'd think so, too. But we shall all see what awaits... this chapter. Lol. I'm terrible at lead ins.**

 **Guest: YES.**

 **Nightsky of FlameClan: Hello! I have been meaning to get back to that chapter but I haven't had the time. The amount of blatant pitbull hate is just disgusting and I really want to tone it down but I have NO time, omg. I honestly needed to put more emphasis on the rabbies, at least when it comes to how Foxshadow thinks of the pitbull. She's a little biased against them. I apologize to pitbulls everywhere on Foxshadow's behalf.**

 **Nyxie Is A Gamer Nerd: Lol. That's what it felt like, LOL.**

 **Ineedmoresleep76: You're user name is my current life. I have a 40+ hour job with great benefits and overtime, but it draaaaaaaggs, lol. Anyway, here is an update! I'm sorry all the updates are slow, but at the start of ADP, my computer went up in smoke and my outline went with it so I've been flailing ever since trying to keep the plot rolling. Thank you so much for your review!**

* * *

Foxshadow blinked awake in confusion at the sound of mewling kits at her belly. She looked around the den, taking in the thick mossy floor and the familiar cracks at the back of the nursery. She smelled Brightface, Fernspots, Cinderheart, and Goldenflower but they all smelled stale. She could barely remember the last thing she had been doing before she woke up.

A cat shifted in the dark and yellow eyes blinked at her. "You're awake," rasped Yellowfang.

The massive she-cat blinked at Yellowfang before she twisted her neck around to the sound of kits. They were kneading at her belly, blindly looking for milk but still struggling to figure out how to drink. She smelled so many different and new scents, and pressed her nose into each wet flank to find some distinct smell. She couldn't. They smelled exactly the same.

"You have four kits," muttered Yellowfang. "Two toms and two she-kits."

Something seemed off. Foxshadow twisted around, trying to recall what it was.

"Where's Mistleleaf?" That didn't seem right. It wasn't Mistleleaf being gone that was the issue.

"She is out searching for herbs with Ashpaw," rasped Yellowfang. "Cloudtail is looking for her still, I'm sure."

Foxshadow blinked at Yellowfang. At the feel of tiny claws on her belly, she twisted to lick her stomach. Her round, large stomach.

"Yellowfang?" she meowed in shock. "I'm still pregnant."

Yellowfang let out a long suffering sigh. "Yes, Foxshadow, you are."

"I thought I was going to have all of them at once!" she meowed. "Why didn't I?"

"You're dependency on Mistleleaf interrupted your labor," Yellowfang rasped.

Foxshadow blinked at her uncomprehendingly.

The dark gray she-cat growled. "It is very common in she-cats in the Clans, though I understand rogues tend to not experience these things. You'll have the rest of the kits tomorrow. If it doesn't kill you."

Nervously, Foxshadow lashed her tail and curled it tightly around her kits. "You can leave now, Yellowfang."

"I'll bring you some borage leaves." The dark gray she-cat padded out of the den.

"Will that hurt my kits?" Foxshadow shifted. "The ones still in my belly?"

Yellowfang blinked. "No."

For some reason, Foxshadow couldn't believe her. She would have to ask Mistleleaf later to be sure, but she was pretty sure putting any kind of herbs in her body right now might hurt her kits or her during labor. She was going to hide the borage leaves until after the rest of her kits had arrived.

"Do you know how many more I'll have?" Foxshadow glanced worriedly at her belly, remembering Blackclaw's warning.

"Maybe three or four," Yellowfang meowed, sounding solemn as she gazed thoughtfully at Foxshadow's belly. "Mistleleaf will see you when you're ready."

Foxshadow swished her tail over the moss before hiding her kits behind them. "Can you send me Dustpelt? I want him to be here when I name these kits."

The old she-cat grumbled, and Foxshadow winced.

"Yellowfang?" she meowed, suddenly nervous. She forced her nervousness aside so she could speak warmly. "Thank you."

After a moment, Yellowfang snorted and padded out of the den. Foxshadow blinked after her, relaxing now that she was gone.

The fox-like she-cat twisted around to sniff her kits, trying to discern who was who. They still smelled like her, even though they were starting to smell like toms and she-kits. She nosed them, looking at their pelts for stripes, for white spots, and feeling their sizes. One of the toms was larger than any of the others, a brown tabby with a dark swirl pattern on his sides and some white on his chin and paws. She thought Swampkit for him because of his size but hesitated. The white made her think of the forthing ocean waves.

A cat pushed through the entrance and sat down at the edge of her nest. She faintly smelled Dustpelt and purred. "Dustpelt, have you come to see your kits?"

He warmly blinked his amber eyes at her and gazed down at the kits. "What are their names?"

"Oceankit," she said immediately, touching the largest tom. She pointed at the second tom. "This is Brockkit." He was a black and white tom. "This is Viperkit." She was a black and brown tiger-stiped tabby with a paler underbelly. "And this is Marshkit." She was a dark brown she-kit with long fur and white paws.

"They're beautiful," whispered Dustpelt, purring. "I'm glad you named some of them Brockkit and Viperkit."

Foxshadow purred before she remembered the news. "Dustpelt," she meowed, "I'm expecting more kits tomorrow."

"What?" The dusky brown tom stepped around her nest and settled behind her, dipping his head to sniff her stomach. "How many?"

"More than two," meowed Foxshadow, sucking in a nervous breath.

Dustpelt narrowed his eyes. "Blackclaw said having six could kill you," he mewed slowly.

She let out a weak "Yes."

The warrior gazed down at the kits silently before he lifted his chin. "You can handle it," he meowed. "You're the strongest cat in ThunderClan."

Foxshadow blinked in amazement, then purred. "I love you, Dustpelt."

He flicked his ears in embarrassment and lowered his head slightly. "I love you, too."

Foxshadow relaxed and purred as Dustpelt gently rested his head on her stomach. Eventually, she relaxed and curled around her kits, enjoying the feel of her family around her.

 _She woke up and, at first, didn't know why. She saw the vague shapes of the other queens resting in their nests around her. Slivers of moonlight shown through the back of the nursery and a pool of white light stretched from the entrance, turning the moss silver._

 _A strange ThunderClan tom smell hit her nose, and it seemed almost familiar. An underlying stench seemed to pour out of the tom, wherever he was, and it made the fur along her spine stand on end. She rose to her paws._

" _Who's there?" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"_

 _For a brief moment, she saw him, a shadow in the darkness that suddenly turned towards her with glittering amber eyes and a flash of wide, white shoulders. They stared at each other silently. A chill started to sweep up her spine. She recognized this tom. She knew he was dangerous, and she cursed herself for not taking him to trial earlier and sending him to become a lonely spirit. A part of her even knew why there were no StarClan cats here in her dreams, but the words wouldn't come to mind. Only two words came to mind._

" _Get out," she snarled, feeling her power suddenly flare up in her muscles and her claws dig into the ground. Her claws tored into the fabric of the world, the universe, the dimensions, and her mind reshaped it into her desire. The tom shrieked loudly, but no one else in the den stirred. Then, the shadows swallowed him up, taking him far away and back to the Dark Forest._

She woke up and immediately turned towards her kits. They were safe and nestled in her belly, having finally figured out how to drink her milk. She relaxed, and turned her gaze to the tom still sleeping beside her with his head on her stomach. She felt warm love blossom in chest at the sight, glad that they could have this perfect moment together.

The sense of danger from seconds ago had vanished, but the faint memory of an intruder made her tear her gaze away and look around the dark den. It looked exactly like her dream. She found her eyes drawn to a dark shadow but after a few heartbeats she knew no one was there. She was safe.

She closed her eyes again, falling into a deep sleep.

 _StarClan light shown overhead as the fog of the ancestral hunting grounds curled around them. She was back in Lion's Trap, staring down at the empty place where cats were judged. To her left and right, five Clan founders were spread out, as if having picked perfect places in case a horde of rabbits raced up the slope into their waiting claws. But they also seemed to be elsewhere, like only a part of their spirit was present to witnesses her next trial. If there was a trial._

 _When she felt she had waited long enough, she concluded that no one was going to show. She decided to take a page from the founders and leave only part of her awareness behind to watch for the next cat. Besides, she knew someone who had escaped justice so far._

 _Her paws led her out of StarClan, down a great waterfall of light into the territories far below. She hesitated, torn between RiverClan and ShadowClan, before she turned her paws towards ShadowClan, where cats from StarClan would occasionally wander. She knew her prey would not be there – she wasn't the type – but a blood relative would know where she was hiding._

 _When she stepped into ShadowClan camp, her gaze swept the StarClan cats until she spotted a few StarClan medicine cats gathered around a den. She padded towards them and, with a polite, nod disappeared into the den. She ignored it when they stiffened at her presence and barely managed to nod respectifully in return._

 _Her eyes landed on Birdnose, better known as Runningnose, who was curled beside the sleeping form of the living Littlecloud. Unlike living cats, StarClan warriors never slept. They had no need to. So when Foxshadow entered, Runningnose lifted his head and blinked at her in greeting._

" _Can I help you, Foxshadow?" he meowed, half-stretching nervously._

" _Where is your mother?" demanded Foxshadow. "Where is Lizardstripe?"_

 _Runningnose blinked at her, but he did not relax. "She's in the hunting grounds near Tree River."_

 _Foxshadow nodded. "Tell the ShadowClan of Brokenkit's generation to show up as well. The entire Clan is going to testify and be judged for the neglect and abuse Lizardstripe gave to one of their kin."_

 _Runningnose's eyes widened, but he finally relaxed. "Yes, Foxshadow. When will this be held?"_

" _In two days time," she meowed. "After my second litter is born."_

 _The medicine cat stared at her and tilted his head, before it seemed to click. "Oh, okay. Say hello to Ravenwing for me."_

" _If I remember," Foxshadow responded with a grateful nod. "See you then."_

 _When she padded out of the den, she traveled instantly back to the hunting grounds and to Tree River. The river was a massive waterfall which spread out at the top into five thick watery branches and which spread out at the bottom into seven separate pools. It represented the bloodlines of the Clans, from the past to the future._

 _Her gaze swept the wide clearing around the roaring falls, and she spotted Lizardstripe drinking from the ShadowClan pool. When Foxshadow padded closer, she saw ShadowClan's camp in the pool's surface, rippling as Lizardstripe drank from it. The massive she-cat curled her lips in disgust and padded silently up behind the she-cat._

" _So, it's your fault ShadowClan suffered through the sickness."_

 _Lizardstripe whipped around to glare at Foxshadow, only to instantly recognize the she-cat. Fear flashed in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, glancing around quickly for other StarClan cats._

" _StarClan cats do not need to drink," Foxshadow continued, ignoring the question. "They do not need to hunt, or sleep, or bathe, or make dirt. So, explain to me why you are here drinking from the pool that holds the strength of living ShadowClan?"_

" _I don't know what you are talking about," she meowed harshly, raising a paw to clean herself._

" _I know you're history, Lizardstripe," meowed Foxshadow, gazing down at the pool which reflected a ShadowClan still recovering from carrionplace disease. Foxshadow dripped her paw into the water, feeling her claws flex and the universe twist slightly. "Your tainted soul is fading fast and you're attempts to remain relevant are draining ShadowClan's strength and making them weak."_

 _Lizardstripe snarled. "They have plenty of strength! Nightstar has nine lives! I need it more!"_

" _You know very well you would have done this even if Nightstar didn't have nine lives," Foxshadow spat. "You are selfish and stupid, Lizardstripe, and it is that which is causing you to fade. You do realize that drinking from the pool won't stop the Clans from forgetting about you. There is only one way to do that and you are too selfish to realize it."_

" _Well then," mewed Lizardstripe. "Why don't you tell me this little secret?"_

 _Foxshadow sneered at her and growled. "You will appear before the jury in two days time for judgment."_

 _The former ShadowClan queen_ _glared at her. "Whatever for?"_

" _For breaking the warrior code while you lived," meowed Foxshadow. "You are a sickness in StarClan that must be cured or purged, one way or the other."_

 _The dark queen flattened her ears and glared at Foxshadow._ _"_ _What makes you think I'll show up?"_

 _Foxshadow blinked her eyes. "What makes you think you have a choice?"_

 _A_ _fter a heartbeat of silence in which Lizardstripe glared at h_ _er, Foxshadow turned and started to pad away._

Sunlight poured into the nursery. Dustpelt was already gone. Her kits had settled down but she didn't know how long it would be until they awoke. She guessed it would be in less than two hours. Their eyes were closed, their claws were unable to retract, and they wiggled rather than crawled around. They were utterly blind, deaf, and helpless.

With a sigh, Foxshadow stood up and pulled herself away from the warmth of her nest. The quiet sleepy cries of her kits stopped her, and she listened until they started to wake up and make more noise. Wincing, Foxshadow forced herself to pull away and pad out of the nursery. She couldn't stay with her kits twenty-four seven. She had to eat, make dirt, and exercise.

A yowl greeted her, and Cloudtail padded towards her, Brightface on his heels. "Foxshadow, you're alright!" he meowed in relief. "Mistleleaf is in the medicine cat den, if you need me to get her."

Foxshadow purred. "I'm fine for now."

"You still look like you're carrying," Brightface meowed, looking slightly disturbed. "Will I look like that?"

"You into your looks?" Foxshadow asked with a loud purr. "Of course not. I'm going to give birth to the rest of my kits later today."

"What?" Brightface looked about as shocked as Cloudtail did.

"You're having two litters?" Cloudtail asked, confused.

"Yes," meowed Foxshadow. "One of them is a day older than the other. Yellowfang said it's normal for Clan cats."

"Will that happen to me?" Brightface wondered, looking over Foxshadow's bulging belly worriedly.

"Probably not," meowed Foxshadow. "I have a very large litter."

Brightface nodded in acceptance and grew quiet, staring off into space somewhere between Foxshadow's shoulder and hip.

Cloudtail bounced on his paws. "What are their names?" he asked. "Can we see them? Who did you name them after?"

"I didn't name them after anyone," meowed Foxshadow. "And their names are Oceankit, Viperkit, Brockkit, and Marshkit. They've been named after two of Dustpelt's favorite animals and two of my favorite places to be."

"Oceankit?" echoed Cloudtail. "I've never heard of it."

"It's a giant pool of water," Foxshadow meowed. "But it's so huge that it stretches from one horizon to the next."

"Like the forest?"

She nodded. "But much, much bigger. You might even get to see it. There's one towards the sunset and beyond the twoleg nests."

Cloudtail blinked. "You must have traveled far when you were a rogue."

"Oh, I have never been to the ocean myself," Foxshadow confessed. "But I have seen images of it on twoleg wall art and heard rumors about it from rogues and loners. It's only half a moon's travel away."

Cloudtail twitched his tail. "Maybe I'll see it one day," he meowed, flicking his tail in a shrug. His eyes glittered. "Can we see the kits?"

"Not until they are about a moon old," meowed Foxshadow firmly. "I don't want them catching greencough or whitecough or some other disease. They must remain in a sterile environment."

"But what about Dustpelt?" Cloudtail asked, lashing his tail.

"Dustpelt is their father," meowed Foxshadow. "He can visit whenever he wants."

Cloudtail pouted.

"Sterile?" asked Brightface tentively.

Foxshadow nodded and grinned. "The moss isn't just a good nesting material, you know. It helps kill diseases and prevent infection." She shifted on her paws. "That is what a sterile environment is. A place without diseases or infectious material."'

She could tell her words were still mostly going over their heads and decided it was best to drop the subject. "Anyway, while I was a rogue, I learned that moss can be more effective to prevent infection and stop bleeding when pressed into wounds. Cobwebs are only used to keep a poultice stuck to a body. That is how I know it will protect my kits."

"You should tell Yellowfang or Mistleleaf that," Brightface meowed.

Foxshadow snorted. "I'll tell Mistleleaf, but Yellowfang's head is already so full she won't learn anything more."

The two cats looked surprised. "Why do you say that?" asked Cloudtail. "Is Yellowfang untrustworthy?"

"No, but she's old and set in her ways." Foxshadow decided to change topics. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you something before all this. Brightface, could you excuse us?"

The once calico she-cat nodded, her bright ginger and white fur rippling as she pressed into his side. Then she padded away towards the freshkill pile.

"What is it?" Cloudtail asked.

"Not here," meowed Foxshadow, heading towards the camp entrance.

"Shouldn't you stay in camp?" he asked, nervously.

"Follow," Foxshadow ordered, and Cloudtail dipped his head.

They padded out into the ravine but Foxshadow took him around the camp barrier so they didn't have to climb the walls. She walked down the length of the ravine, in the same direction Tawnypaw and Tigerclaw had taken weeks before when escaping the ThunderClan warriors. Cloudtail bristled.

Foxshadow stopped at a tiny creek which trickled down from the ravine, turning the brown soil wet and smooth. She turned to Cloudtail, her expression serious.

Cloudtail straightened. "What is it?"

"It's time you learned the truth about Darkpaw," meowed Foxshadow, lifting her head. "I have a lot to say so please don't interrupt. Let me start from the very beginning. When a kit is born, it's eyes are closed, but when it opens its eyes they are always blue. When they reach two moons, their eyes start to focus and they are able to see more clearly and their eye color starts to change to their adult color. I will show you this in one moon's time, after my kits have opened their eyes.

"When Darkpaw was born and he opened his eyes, his eyes were yellow, exactly like his father's. His pelt was black with heavy striping, just like his father, but all of his siblings were pure white. I knew when I saw this that it was a sign from StarClan that Darkkit was no kit. He was his father reincarnated.

"As a kit, you often ended up with scratches. Willowpelt thought it was because of a thorn in the bedding, but we found no thorn. I asked her to separate Darkkit from Cloudkit, and when she did this, you were never scratched again. This is how I recognized my mentor's hatred of kittypets in his son. He knew from scent alone that you were not Clanborn and his old hatred of kittypets and his boredom as a kit made him act out against you in a petty way.

"I still do not understand why StarClan would reincarnate Darkstripe or if it was them who did it at all, but I knew right away that when Darkkit grew up into an apprentice I would have to take on the responsibility of becoming his mentor. No one else in the Clan would treat him as he really was; Darkstripe, my former mentor. I gave him punishments when he refused to obey the warrior code, and I refused to teach him anything. But still, after only a few days, he performed battle moves flawlessly and hunted with the skill of a warrior.

"He grew tired of my treatment of him. Since he knew that I knew he was a warrior, he began to expect to be treated like one, despite being a mere apprentice. He wanted to hurt me, even to kill me. So he manipulated you to attack the dogs and ran away like a coward to fetch me, knowing I would follow you to save you from the pack. He hoped it would kill me, but as you can see he failed.

"Mousefur and I investigated into the whole affair afterwards. We managed to get a confession out of Tawnypaw that Darkpaw was the first to come up with the idea of attacking the dogs, how he twisted his words so that you would be convinced it would make you a warrior sooner. You fell for it, and six apprentices died because of it.

"Once I had confirmed he had started it, I took the information to Bluestar, but she refused to punish him or even to see him as a threat. He was responsible for the death of six apprentices. He himself had confessed before the Clans that he had seen Tigerclaw on the territory and that he was responsible for the dog's appearance. I could only conclude that Darkpaw was working for him. I knew he could not stay in ThunderClan.

"So, I took him with me to the neutral territory up passed Owl Tree. I took him to the gorge and showed him the spot where I had thrown Brokenstar in. I performed a ritual to banish Darkpaw from ThunderClan and told StarClan that I would punish Darkpaw for the damage he had done to the living. And then – then I chased him off like a rogue, broke his hindleg and tail, and marred his face. I chased him to WindClan territory and told him that StarClan would punish him for the dead when he died. The last I saw of him before the Gathering was him collapsing among the tall grass, bleeding out from wounds I had inflicted, after a WindClan patrol came over the hill."

Foxshadow fell silent, glancing into her adopted son's eyes. Cloudtail's eyes were wide like moons. Foxshadow felt like she was going to choke.

"Mousefur suspects of what I did to Darkpaw. She has told Fireheart of her suspicions, and it's only a matter of time before he brings the information to Bluestar and the rest of the Clan. He'll wait to confirm it first, however." She fell silent. "I've been wanting to tell you since that day, so that you would never have to feel responsible for the apprentices' death, but I couldn't until I was sure you were old enough to understand why I – I had to do that to Darkpaw. I know you probably won't believe me. It sounds _crazy_ , but I had no idea what else to do. I had to protect my Clan. I had to protect _you_. _"_

She looked Cloudtail in the eye this time, swallowing forcefully as she kept her gaze steady. "I just wanted you to hear the whole story from me first."

"Mom..." Cloudtail trailed off, speechless. He stepped towards her, his face twisted with a mix of confusion, shock, and concern. He searched for words. "I'm sure you did the right thing," he meowed, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself. "Darkpaw was always trouble, like you said. He deserves it."

"No one deserves anything," Foxshadow meowed, looking down at her paws. "Though he did earn it."

"Exactly," meowed Cloudtail, his spirits lifting. "Darkpaw broke the warrior code dozens of times, whether he really was Darkstripe or not. The whole Clan knows he was bad from the start. He would have made an awful warrior."

Foxshadow suddenly felt irritated. "This isn't about losing a potential warrior! It's about how I attacked and chased off a young tom!"

The white tom sat down. "So, you're only upset about this because he's a young tom? Even though you said he's Darkstripe come back from the dead?"

Foxshadow didn't like how he put it so simply and sighed. "I guess so."

"Mom," Cloudtail mewed. "You love kits more than anything, but even you know Darkpaw would have been bad for the Clan. He never learned his lesson all those times you punished him. If he really was responsible, no one could have trusted him to learn his lesson this time."

The massive she-cat closed her eyes. "Is that what you tell yourself, too?"

Cloudtail pressed into her side. Despite being fully grown, she was a head taller than him. In that respect. Cloudtail and Dustpelt were the same.

The white tom sucked in a deep breath and spoke in his best wiseman voice. "We can't be responsible for Darkpaw," he mewed slowly. "Only Darkpaw can be responsible for himself."

Foxshadow huffed a laugh, blinking at her first son with pride. "Did I tell you that?"

"Not directly," Cloudtail admitted quietly, purring. "I love you, Mom. I know you would always do your best. Darkpaw needed to leave the Clans. He was too dangerous." He bumped her chin. "If Bluestar was thinking straight, I'm sure she would have banished him, too."

She winced at his words, realizing with dread that the rest of the Clan was catching on to Bluestar's state of mind as well. But at least she had finally told Cloudtail.

"Now," she began slowly, not wanting to pull away from the warmth. "Let's head back to camp before StarClan decides to send me into labor again over this."

Cloudtail let out a huff of laughter as the two cats padded back down the ravine towards the camp. When they padded through the entrance, Dustpelt rushed towards them.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "Have you forgotten that Tigerclaw is out there and is after you?"

Foxshadow felt her fur stand on end.

"And what if you start kitting again?" Dustpelt continued, stopping when he noticed her expression.

"Tigerclaw wasn't after me, Dustpelt," Foxshadow meowed before hurrying passed to the nursery and rushed towards her nest. She smelled the strange tom faintly, but he was gone. She sniffed her four kits, putting their scents to names. She relaxed in relief and winced at a pang in her stomach.

Dustpelt padded up behind her, frowning. "The kits are fine," he meowed. "Goldenflower has already checked up on them."

Foxshadow nodded wordlessly and wiggled into her nest, curling around the kits. "They'll be safe with Goldenflower here," she meowed to herself mostly. "Thank you, Dustpelt."

"Why did you leave the camp, anyway?" he asked.

"I had to tell Cloudtail something important," she meowed, before realizing she hadn't told Dustpelt anything yet either. She winced guiltily and lowered her head onto her paws. "Don't worry about it."

Dustpelt watched her, his tail-tip twitching. Finally, he padded around behind her and settled with his head on her stomach.

* * *

 **A/N: I want to be able to post the poll Wednesday. I might have to even if I don't receive any confirmation from Wolf or Ella because I think you guys have waited long enough for your chance to choose Brambleclaw and Fernspot's kits.**

 ** **I currently have a 40+ hour job with potential for overtime on weekends, so I have a lot less time than before to work on these updates on top of some kind of chest infection which has been affecting me for the last three weeks. I have some new ideas I'd like to try before ADP is over and I hope it kicks up the plot a bit, if I can find time to write it. Hopefully I'll post another chapter around next week.  
****

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! Especially you, WolfWriter and Ellabellu! I love ALL of you guys and I hope you guys have a wonderful week and I hope to update soon!** **Like I said before, I'll posting BrambleFern's kits poll on Wednesday of this week. See ya guys then!**


	77. A Dangerous Path pt 12

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your patience and sorry for the short chapter! I will hopefully have something posted next week! *cross fingers* Also, I have a big announcement at the end of this chapter in relation to the poll, so get ready!**

 **Gamelover41592: That... is my favorite Dustpelt joke ever. I will remember his "cannon" forever. ;)**

 **Littlesmack: Review was good.**

 **Lightningfire-star: Thank you so much!**

 **Ellabellu: Ouch. FanNet needs to get it's act in gear. I actually asked them to add Appledusk as a character in Warriors and they claimed to have done so but I can't find him. Also, I asked them to do the same for Reedshine and no luck.**

 **Nyxie Is A Gamer Nerd: Woohoo! Let's hope that continues for a little longer.**

 **Fala: Thank you so much! You've been with me since the beginning and it's good to see you again! Thank you!  
**

 **Blazefeather44: That's cool! Also, happy early birthday! I have two vacation days next weeks so I should have enough time to write a new chapter near your birthday. No promises though, but we can both hope!**

 **The Bunny That Haunts You: Hello again! Also, Foxshadow is totally a villain some of the times. Is she worse than Mapleshade? Hm. We shall see, I suppose, lol.**

* * *

Foxshadow jerked awake as a painful spasm rippled up her stomach. "Goldenflower!" She twisted in her nest, struggling not to harm her squirming kits, as she reached for the golden tabby with a paw. "I need Mistleleaf." She hooked her paw over Goldenflower's shoulders and yanked on the queen, her claws tickling flesh.

The sleeping queen jerked awake, blinking away sleep. "Foxshadow?" she meowed sleepily, expression turning serious.

"Mistleleaf," answered Foxshadow, wincing. "I need her."

Goldenflower surged to her paws with a nod. "I'll be quick," she promised, before rushing out of the den.

Near the back of the nursery, Cinderheart lifted her head and yawned, stretching out her legs. She nodded at Foxshadow before she started to wash her chest fur. Foxshadow felt herself start to relax at the silent support.

A white she-cat pushed her way through the entrance, herbs in her mouth. Goldenflower was right behind her, dragging a waxy dock leaf.

"You okay?" Mistleleaf asked, tail nervously wrapping around her paws as she sat down.

"For the moment," Foxshadow confessed. "But I know it's going to be soon."

"You should move away from your kits," Mistleleaf said slowly, padded around to an untouched nest.

Foxshadow nodded and rose to her paws, pausing and wincing as another ripple passed through her. A smell, black and odorous drifted up from the back of the nursery. She glanced around, her gaze landing on a shadow in the back, her lips curling and fur bristling.

" _How did you find your way back here?"_

The queen realized she hadn't spoken at all. She was panting now, and she felt Mistleleaf nudge her to a separate nest. Her kits mewled behind her, but they sounded strangely distant. Her spirit felt like it was fading.

 _Foxshadow blinked as the spirit plane crept up around her. The yellow-eyed shadow moved rapidly towards the nursery entrance, racing towards the entrance. Foxshadow hissed and chased it through the bramble tunnel._

 _It was like a black stain in the shape of a cat, the massive form rippling as it raced up the rocky ravine, half-vanishing into the shadows. Surefooted and powerful, the shadow leaped gracefully and easily up from rock ledge to claw hold, clawing up over the rim of the ravine and racing out into the forest._

 _Foxshadow easily kept up, a fox-length behind it as it lead her towards ShadowClan territory. The shadow leaped into flat, black expanse of concrete, like it was a wretched river of oil and disease. Foxshadow slammed her paws on the shadow, but hit asphalt. It was immune to her attacks, barely visible as a black spot moving across the surface of the Thunderpath. Yowling in frustration, she pounded after it._

 _It emerged on the other side, dragging itself out of the black river. She crashed into its back, sinking her teeth into a thick-furred scruff as she tried to yank it off its paws. But it was bigger and more muscular, and the thick ThunderClan mane prevented her from getting a good grip on skin. He tore himself free and kept running._

" _Stop!" Foxshadow felt her heart pound. She tried to summon up her power, only to realize that she couldn't. She wasn't fully here. A larger, stronger part of her was stuck in the nursery, fighting a yowl of pain as her sixth kit slipped out onto the moss. She shook herself and returned to the chase, using the familiar scent to keep true to her path._

 _She thundered straight through the ShadowClan camp barrier. The StarClan spirits who had been there the night before had vanished. She wasn't walking with StarClan right now; she was somewhere darker, on another plane parallel to the living. The black shadow's scent led her straight to the warriors den. She hesitated at the entrance, steeling herself for a fight, before pushing herself inside._

" _Who are you?" she demanded, before her gaze landed on a sleep ShadowClan warrior. He was light brown with darker spots down his flank. The shadow stood beside him, his yellow gaze triumphant._

" _You're too late," meowed the shadow, voice gurgling as if he was still swimming in the black river she could so easily pad across._

 _She glared at the tom. He was a grey-and-black marbled tabby with plenty of white fur that covered his fluffy belly, tail, chest, and throat, but it also crept up his shoulder on his left side. She almost found him handsome, if not for the foul blood dripping from a dozen and half wounds all over his body. "Too late for what?"_

 _Suddenly, the ShadowClan warrior jerked and rose to his paws. Around him, the shapes of his fellow Clanmates began to appear even as the grey-black-and-white tom began to fade into the background, reduced to a shadow once more. Foxshadow recognized the tom, the renown traitor who had served Brokenstar in DarkClan and left them for ShadowClan after Brokenstar's disappearance. Deerfoot blinked before he carefully stalked out of the den._

" _Thistleclaw," meowed Foxshadow, terror threatening to freeze her. "What have you done?"_

 _The shadow hissed and gurgled. "You should have given me my trial."_

" _What good would that have done?" hissed Foxshadow. "You'd still be exactly where you are."_

" _I deserve a trial," he hissed. "I deserve to have everything I've done presented before Thunder. I deserve a fair judgment."_

" _You killed a kit," meowed Foxshadow, feeling tired for more than one reason. She would not be able to stay here for much longer. Her new kits were calling for her._

" _Tigerpaw defended our border," hissed Thistleclaw. "I was doing my job."_

 _Foxshadow narrowed her eyes. "You did all this to get my attention? If that is the case, you have it, but you may not like what it entails. I am weak now, but when I sleep for real, I will be strong enough to properly deal with you."_

 _The black shadow chuckled. "You know nothing of your power. StarClan has kept that from you. Even I know your power better than you do."_

" _Get to the point," Foxshadow growled._

 _Thistleclaw took a step forward, his yellow eyes gleaming despite the rest of him being oily shadow. "You can be in multiple places at once, but your power is split between each and every one of you. You are not - what's the twoleg word? - omnipresent. You may think you have power over all of us, but we have powers you will never know about. You cannot walk in the shadows like us. You are just as blind and deaf and weak in them as Mapleshade."_

" _Did you tell Deerfoot this?" Foxshadow felt her fur stand on end. "Who else have you told?"_

 _Thistleclaw narrowed his eyes, refusing to speak._

 _She growled. "You are going to have your trial, Thistleclaw. But you should know that because of this, the founders will not be present for it. Whatever crime you commit today is in StarClan and in the Dark Forest, only. All others of StarClan will be judging you in their stead."_

 _The shadow hissed. "Let them judge you as well! You will give me a fair trial of my life, Foxshadow."_

 _She shook her head. "You lost your right to make demands when you chose the Dark Forest over StarClan!"_

" _I chose the Dark Forest so I could actually help my Clanmates!" Thistleclaw growled. "StarClan has never done anything to help me!"_

" _It was never about you! It was always about the Clan! StarClan cannot value one warrior more than any other! It takes everyone to make the Clan strong, not just one tom with claws for brains!"_

" _You're one to talk," the shadow softly hissed, retreating into the darkness at the back of the den. "You'd do anything to save your kits."_

 _Foxshadow felt a thrill of sudden terror. "You're planning to kill my kits!?"_

 _The shadow had been shroud in darkness, his yellow eyes flickering from their murky depths, triumphant._

" _I made Mapleshade lost because she threatened my kits," murmured Foxshadow. "You'd should be afraid of what I'd do to you."_

 _With that last remark, Foxshadow turned away and pushed herself forward as she chased after Deerfoot, her nose to the ground, whiskers stirring up his scent. She saw him in the distance, even as she felt the rest of her soul start to gather up inside of this ghostly shell. She realized with horror that she was dying._

" _You were right," meowed Deerfoot to Tigerclaw. "Thistleclaw came to me."_

 _Tigerclaw looked smug. "What did he say?"_

" _It's tonight."_

 _Before she could hear another word, her spirit start to slip away and the ground rose higher and higher in front of her with each step, like a hill rolling up from right from under her. She fell back, yowling, until she was falling down a cliff made of falling trees and sweeping fields of grass._

 _A heartbeat later, she was standing at the entrance to StarClan, surrounded by distant foggy images of five giant oak trees with roots so large and knobbed and gnarled that they twisted up out of the ground like brambles and ran through the grass like mole tunnel. The rest of the forest was held back by the spread of branches overhead, cutting out the light of the sun so that the darkness could be filled with the colorful starry pelts of ancient StarClan cats._

" _Foxshadow," meowed Raggedstar, his face grim. "You have lost your sixth life."_

 _Foxshadow stiffened in panic. "Where is Deerfoot right now?"_

 _Raggedstar grimaced. "I don't know. He walks with the Dark Forest."_

She jolted awake on cool drying moss. Fireheart jumped back, hissing in surprise.

"Y-you're alive!" he stammered, looking like he had almost doubted she would come back until she saw his gaze shift to the other cat present.

Dustpelt looked as calm and quiet a RiverClan cat while hunting. "She was just sleeping," Dustpelt meowed, half in annoyance, before he glanced at her. "Right?"

She blinked, realized how tired she was, and yawned. She couldn't imagine how Dustpelt would react to her having nine lives. "Yes," she forced out, remembering all the other little secrets she never told Dustpelt. She looked around for Mistleleaf, who was near her tail.

Mistleleaf blinked apologetically and bowed her head. "They were scared after you fell silent," she muttered. "Fireheart managed to keep most everyone else away."

"Most everyone," Foxshadow echoed, her gaze landing stiffly on Yellowfang. The dark gray she-cat blended in so well with the shadows, she was reminding Foxshadow of Thistleclaw, especially with her pale yellow eyes.

Mistleleaf flinched. "Y-yes. Bluestar plans to visit you soon."

Foxshadow blinked at her, then turned her wide gaze pleadingly to Dustpelt. "I need to rest." She glanced pointedly at Fireheart. "Plus, I need to speak with Yellowfang."

"Oh, this must be special," Yellowfang rasped.

The dusky brown warrior took the hint and turned to look at Fireheart pointedly. The deputy glanced at Foxshadow, a hint of concern in his eyes as well as a strong desire to speak with her, but he realized he was outnumbered and turned to leave. Dustpelt huffed in satisfaction, pausing to brush his nose against her hindleg before padding out. Mistleleaf blinked at Foxshadow with her wide odd-eyes, before she flattened her ears and followed after Dustpelt.

"How much do you know?" Foxshadow mewed quietly.

"You died," Yellowfang rasped, "but then you came back. You're not a warrior anymore, are you?"

"You could say that," meowed Foxshadow her whiskers twitching in amusement. "I am a queen after all."

Yellowfang have a sharp hiss-snort in disgust. "Don't give me that mousedung."

The massive she-cat shifted, suddenly realizing there were more kits nuzzling her belly. "So, I died."

"That tends to happen when you have eight kits," snapped Yellowfang.

"Eight?" Foxshadow stared down at her kits in surprise. She could tell the difference between the younger kits and the older ones; they were smaller and still wet with her own scent. She curled her tail protectively around them, her gaze drifting towards the nursery entrance.

"They're fine." Yellowfang stared down at the kits but wasn't seeing them. "You said you came from another Clan?"

"You're trying to reason this," meowed Foxshadow, "like I can somehow put it into terms you can understand, but I can't. I have nine lives, Yellowfang, and I am not a leader of any Clan."

The dark gray she-cat raised her head and stared Foxshadow in the eye. With a harsh sound, she raised a paw to clean her face and rubbed her whiskers roughly in frustration.

"Who even are you?" she demanded.

Foxshadow bristled and sneered. "If StarClan refuses to tell you that, perhaps you need to question the motives behind whoever it is that's talking to you. Why should you get involved in a vendetta against me without knowing why you're doing it?"

They glared at each other in silence. Yellowfang broke it first, her frustration bleeding away.

"I'll think about it," she rasped, rising to her paws. "I'll let Dustpelt know he can come see his kits now."

"Actually, I need to speak with Fireheart first." Foxshadow forced herself to her paws. After dying, she felt completely refreshed and silently thanked StarClan for their healing powers. "It's important."

It felt like forever after Yellowfang left before Fireheart decided to come in. He looked unsure of himself, as if expecting a lecture.

"Foxshadow," he meowed, dipping his head to the queen as if she was still the deputy and he the warrior.

"Fireheart," she meowed, dipping her head to him like a senior warrior to their leader. Fireheart twitched in discomfort at this. "I have a had a vision from StarClan. ThunderClan is going to be attacked soon by followers of Tigerclaw."

The red tabby's eyes went wide as full moons. "How can your vision be so clear?"

Foxshadow blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Fireheart shifted. "Well, I receive visions from StarClan, too, but they are never as clear as that."

"You receive _dreams_ from StarClan," pointed out the massive queen, "and that's the difference. Dreams by their nature don't make much sense to begin with."

Fireheart looked surprised"How did you know that?"

She shrugged, confused. "I have normal dreams?"

"No, how did you know I received dreams from StarClan?"

The queen gave him a long flat look. "You are the only cat in the Clan who sleeps as silently as a kitting queen."

Fireheart winced and hesitated. "So, you think StarClan is trying to tell you Tigerclaw's going to attack."

"Tigerclaw has already attacked," meowed Foxshadow in frustration. "He attacked the nursery a moon ago. You think he's not going to attack again?"

The deputy hesitated. "Tigerclaw hasn't been seen since Tawnypaw left us. He might already have what he wanted."

"You don't believe that," meowed Foxshadow, lowering her head to protect her kits, her eyes wide in shock. "You should never believe that. Tigerclaw has been humiliated. He's going to come back whether you want him to or not."

* * *

 **A/N: The first poll is now closed! BrambleXFern's kits have all been chosen!**

 **In first place, we have Doewhisper, the soft-furred light gray spotted she-cat with round blue eyes. Congratulations WolfWriter123, for your amazing name!  
**

 **In second place, we have Thistleburr, the spikey-furred black spotted tom with amber eyes and long claw. Congratulations again WolfWriter123!**

 **In third place, we have Fawnleap, the spotted golden-brown tom with amber eye; and also** **Umberdusk, the bulky brown tabby tom with amber eyes. Congratulations to Lightningfire-star and Ellabellu respectfully!**

 **Thank you everyone for your submissions! Now, for the second poll! It's time to choose who are the best names for Raven and Cinder's kits!  
**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! See you guys next week, hopefully, for the last chapter of ADP!**


	78. A Dangerous Path pt 13

**A/N: Woohoo, finally managed to get this one out. This story is constantly switching between being on temporary haitus and being updated right now. So much life stuff has been getting in the way and binge writing can be real taxing on my muse right now. I am so glad this chapter is 6,381 words, not including Authoer's Notes. Also, this chapter we start to enter morally grey and cultural defining moments. Foxshadow's on the road to crossing a very fine line, and the universe is not helping her to get her paws back on the right path.**

 **Gamelover41592: Thistleclaw is like most evil cats, he's convinced he's not evil and that a fair trial will prove that. Yellowfang's still got a StarClan cat to grill before anyone tells her what's really going on, which may take another moon at least. It's easier to argue with dead cats at the Moonstone.**

 **Nightsky of FlameClan: Lol, it's a bit late to offer up kits. Nightshine's already winning. I would highly recommend voting if you haven't already. I need like one or two other clear winners before I can close out that poll.**

 **Ellabellu: Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like this chapter, too. My test audience says it's great but a bit shockingly bloody.**

 **Fala: Spiritkit has a special destiny that involves SkyClan and DarkClan. I have a novella with his name on it ready to be written. He's definitely going to become a medicine cat, but not because he's blind. He becomes one because he knows it's his destiny and because he loves it.**

 **Kadence: Well, it was somewhat of a twist. I'm not entirely sure a cat can have a million kits. I almost wanted her to have twelve in one litter because some house cats have been known to have that many kits, but I thought 8 was a good enough middle ground, lol.**

 **Lightningfire-star: Thank you so much!**

 **thundercharger123: Ouch, it's been a whole month! Sorry for the long wait. I hope the fight scene in this chapter makes it up to you.**

 **Th3DoomSlay3r: Thank you so much! Hope you like this one, too.**

 **xXShadyBlackCatXx: Of course! It just makes sense given who gave her the name. Cinderpelt always sounded like Yellowfang might have been remembering Raggedpelt with that name.  
**

 **The Bunny That Haunts You: So would I! She's not supposed to have nine lives. Also, Dustpelt know something's up... and that's gonna come up in the next book, The Darkest Hour. Very important.**

* * *

"Are you going to be all right?" asked Dustpelt.

The full moon bathed the camp in silvery white glow. Dustpelt blocked the entrance to the nursery with his body, the pale light outside giving him a halo of feathery pale fur. Foxshadow choked on an amused purr.

Dustpelt frowned. "Keep our kits safe," he meowed at last, pressing his nose into her ear.

"I will," she murmured. "Keep yourself safe first."

Wispy clouds rolled over the moon, darkening the camp for a few heartbeats before the full light shown through. Foxshadow guessed that some cats in StarClan wanted to delay the Gathering, but not enough for them to fully obscure the moon. It seemed she was on her own. Her claws shifted nervously and her eyes searched for glimpses of the camp beyond Dustpelt's lion-like mane.

Her mate rose to his paws with a sigh and turned towards the entrance. "We'll talk later," he meowed.

Foxshadow blinked in surprise. "Okay."

The brown tabby padded out. His paws crunched across a fresh, thin layer of snow.

The queen wondered what Dustpelt wanted to talk about, and she struggled to push that thought aside.

Mistleleaf stepped into the den. Her odd-eyes flickered over Foxshadow's kits nervously and settled on two in particular. "Have they opened their eyes, yet?" she asked Foxshadow cautiously.

"No," meowed Foxshadow honestly. She stared at one of the two kits, a dark brown tabby tom who reminded her of Tigerclaw. "They're both fine."

The white she-cat nodded, shoulder fur bristling with more than cold. "You are going to tell me the moment they open their eyes?"

"Has Goosefeather been saying nonsense again?" Foxshadow asked, whiskers twitching, amused. "Tell him he's being a duck."

Mistleleaf's whiskers twitched. "I'm sure he already knows." She gave the kits one final thoughtful look and nodded to herself. "I'm going to the Gathering."

"I thought Yellowfang was?"

"Yellowfang said she was getting too old for gatherings." Mistleleaf's gaze drifted to the kits again and she frowned.

The queen bristled. "My kits are going to be fine. Goldenflower and I will protect them."

"Of course," Mistleleaf meowed quickly. "Brightface is expecting soon, so it's best for her to stay here."

"Best for Brightface or best for Yellowfang?"

"Everyone." Mistleleaf tried to be reassuring.

Foxshadow frowned and gave a thoughtful "hmm". "Yellowfang did used to be a warrior."

Relieved, Mistleleaf nodded quickly. "Exactly. I will be back as soon as I can."

"Okay," meowed Foxshadow, then purred lovingly. "I'll make sure my kits see all their adopted siblings the moment they can."

Mistleleaf blinked at her, eyes growing watery with emotion. She pressed her nose into Foxshadow's forehead, earning a purr, then wordlessly backed out of the den. Foxshadow flicked an ear in bemusement despite the smile in her whiskers.

 _I haven't been much of a mother to her_ , she thought sadly. _No thanks to Yellowfang._ She hoped Yellowfang would come to her senses about whoever in StarClan was feeding her lies so that she actually could be the mother she promised Frostfur that she'd be.

Foxshadow watched silently as the Gathering patrol swarmed around Bluestar. A feverish look in the blue cat's eyes made them glow with unnatural light. Any cat who saw it might think it was a sign of strength from StarClan. Foxshadow saw only sickness.

Fireheart stood beside her, his green eyes locking with Foxshadow's for a heartbeat before he tore his gaze away, fur ruffled. Foxshadow lowered her head sadly into her paws.

 _I have four lives left_ , she thought quietly. _Pretty soon, I won't have enough to prove that I can be leader of any Clan._ If StarClan wanted her to eventually lead SkyClan, they were doing a poor job of making sure she survived to do it. It felt almost like they were doing everything in their power to kill her off as fast as they could. Giving her more than four kits was proof of that.

 _Perhaps it's just one voice in StarClan_ , she thought _, a tainted soul like Lizardstripe._

With a jolt, she realized that she had dozed off. Cats muttered quietly outside of her den. She dragged herself to her paws, feeling bone weary even though it had been nearly a whole day since she gave birth, and padded tiredly out into camp. Cloudtail blinked at her from where he sat next to the tree stump. Up on the stump, Patchpelt rested his head on the top of a pale gray tabby back, purring raspily in contentment, his gaze hooded.

"Ah," murmured Foxshadow, with a wink at Patchpelt. "That's why Brindleface retired."

Patchpelt winked back, curling up tighter and pressing his forehead into the old queen's belly. The she-cat didn't even stir, asleep.

Cloudtail's white ears tried to turn pink, and he tore his gaze away and back to his mouse. Foxshadow couldn't help a purring laugh.

"Hey!" yowled Brackenfur. He stood up from his vigil beside the entrance, head raised and lips curled back to reveal teeth. "Who goes there?"

Every cat in camp was suddenly awake and listening. Thornclaw rushed to Brackenfur's side, his stumpy tail flicking aggressively as he snarled. More cats quickly rushed to his side as an indistinct mew answered him. Foxshadow couldn't even see who entered the camp behind the line of bodies, and she quickly rose to her paws, her son at her side.

"What's going on?" Foxshadow demanded, cats quickly parting before her, until she saw a cream and gray dappled pelt. "Tawnypaw!" Her lips peeled back into a snarl. "Why have you returned?"

The pale she-cat blinked up at her, claws digging into the earth and fur on end even as she sank slower on her paws. "I came to warn you."

Foxshadow felt her heart beat faster, panic and terror making her fur stand on end.

"Who is this?" Sandstorm glared at a young warrior or older apprentice.

He was a dark brown tabby tom who looked very familiar even though Foxshadow knew they hadn't met. He shank down farther onto the ground, looking like he wanted the world to swallow him up. "We came to warn you!" declared the tom, eyes wide despite his clear voice. "Our father is coming to attack you!"

"Tigerclaw!" Foxshadow felt her panic and terror vanish under the sudden wave of understanding and relief. _Thank StarClan!_ "Every cat old enough to catch their own prey, prepare for battle! Brackenfur, get into the trees. Tell us the moment you see any cat. Patchpelt, Brindleface, make sure the kits are moved into the elder's den. Goldenflower, cover the kit's scent and return to the nursery."

"What about Tawnypaw?" snapped Cloudtail.

"It's Tawnyflower," meowed the she-cat, subdued. Her gaze flashed over the Clan cats as if looking for Brambleclaw, but he was at the Gathering. Her half-brother pressed close to her side. She glanced at him and flicked her tail at him. "This is Toadpaw, my half-brother."

"We're just going to trust her?" Cloudtail hissed in Tawnyflower's direction. "She betrayed us for Tigerclaw!"

"We came to help you!" yowled the young tom. "Tigerstar is sending a whole patrol of TigerClan warriors to kill all of your kits tonight! We couldn't let that happen, especially during a Gathering." He looked earnestly and desperately at the snarling cats. "It's mousehearted."

"You will fight for ThunderClan?" Foxshadow demanded.

"We will," meowed Tawnyflower, raising her tail.

Foxshadow felt her lips start to curl into a sneer, doubt at Tawnyflower's true intentions warring with the belief that the young she-cat would never allow kits to be put in danger. Even if those kits were Foxshadow's. The former deputy tore her gaze away, flicking her ears towards Sandstorm. "Sandstorm, if any cats break through the barrier, you make sure that Tawnyflower and this tom fight. Snowstorm, line up the apprentices on either side of you in front of the nursery. You have to convince them that our kits are still there. Cloudtail, Thornclaw, don't let anyone through the front entrance. Move!"

Patchpelt stepped out in front of the elder's den. "Brindleface and I will make sure no one enters here."

"If they do," said Foxshadow, her voice hard, "kill them. They cannot be allowed to inform any other rogue that the kits are here."

Patchpelt's eyes went wide before his gaze hardened, and he blinked. "I understand."

As every cat rushed to follow orders, a dark shadow seemed to fall over the whole forest. Foxshadow didn't look up, relieved that StarClan had sent something to cover the moon.

Foxshadow's gaze swept the camp. Snowstorm stood with Harrierpaw and Slatepaw in front of the nursery. Sandstorm stood in front of them with Tawnyflower and her half-brother. Goldenflower, Patchpelt, and Brindleface rushed to move the eight newborn kits out of the nursery. Her kits. Foxshadow hurried to their side, and in two short the trips all the kits had been moved. When she padded back into dark night, she looked up at Brackenfur, perched easily in his tree, his back to the camp and head tucked low like a hunter who had spotted a mouse. He didn't open his mouth and signaled with his tail.

"Get ready," she hissed, crouching, "everyone down."

A darkness started to fall over the forest. Her eyes scanned the thick bramble walls, her ears perked against the cool night air. The tiny jingle of metal on metal alerted her to their approach, and she realized with growing shock that some of the intruders were kittypets or former BloodClan warriors. Her claws dug in the ground as she prepared to leap.

High above, Brackenfur had completely turned around in his tree and was preparing to pounce, his tail twitching furiously in a series of signals. The ThunderClan cats ducked lower, hiding in the shadows. Foxshadow's sharp eyes pierced the darkness, spotting enemy cats stumble down the ravine, trying not to slip and fall, unaware of the cats watching them from the other side of the camp wall.

 _These cats have never been in a forest before,_ she thought, until she saw the unmistakable dark brown spotted coat of a ShadowClan warrior. _Deerfoot!_

He trailed at the back of the pack, his sharp yellow eyes piercing the darkness as keenly as her own. She closed her eyes, praying that he had not seen her. Silence passed, and she squinted her eyes, looking up at Brackenfur expectantly. He waved his tail in signal. _One incoming._

Then the first enemy cat stuck his head out of the tunnel entrance, a smokey gray tom with a studded collar. Instantly, a golden-brown paw struck him in the eye, slashing open the side of his face, even as a white paw slammed into his collar, scoring shallow marks on his throat, and jerked back with a hiss of pain. The gray tom jerked his head back with a pained yowl, blood dripping from his eye.

Foxshadow bolted forward and leaped clear over the bramble wall, her long powerful legs stretching out behind her. For a heartbeat, she could see almost an entire Clan's worth of warriors covering the ground between the camp and ravine slope. Like a vicious fox leaping in a chicken pen, she flashed her teeth in a feral grin and slammed into the heart of the warriors, claws slashing out and teeth snapping. Cats started to scream and yowl. A few former BloodClan warriors leaping at her to tear into her with sharp claws. She leaped and twisted, never standing still long enough for a blow to land, but driving her teeth into bone and her claws into muscle. When a BloodClan warrior nearly knocked her out of the air, she leaped back and turned around, bounding over the bramble wall to safety.

Blood pounding in her ears, she looked up at Brackenfur. The brown tabby looked like he was fighting down a yowl of triumph, awe in his eyes. His tail signal rapidly. _Half of the warriors have already fled._

 _Loners,_ Foxshadow signaled back. _The real fight's just begun._

Foxshdaow's gaze swept the camp. Only a few of the BloodClan warriors had managed to claw their way over the brambles into the camp, but they had been quickly pushed back by overwhelming odds. Most of ThunderClan was still fresh and the apprentices looked like they hadn't fought anyone yet. Yellowfang watched from the fern tunnel, her gray coat smeared with mud.

With Brackenfur hidden in the tree and BloodClan mostly outside of the camp, they had the advantage.

"They're at the back of the nursery!" yowled Goldenflower.

Snowstorm glanced at Foxshadow, who gave a nod, and then he disappeared inside. Foxshadow took one glance around, flicking her tail furiously, and followed after him with Tawnyflower on her heels.

With four bristling warriors and one heavily pregnant queen, the nursery almost felt overcrowded. Foxshadow pushed her way to the back of the nursery, her sharp yellow eyes struggling to make out shapes and pelt colors through the tiny gaps of the weaves.

"Goldenflower, you're in charge," she murmured. "If they manage to get in for a foxlength, kill them. No enemy leaves the nursery alive. Understood?"

Goldenflower's eyes bobbed in the darkness. Tawnyflower stiffened beside her, and Snowstorm let out a low growl. Satisfied, Foxshadow quickly turned around and left, rushing back out into camp. She signaled to Brackenfur, and he quickly started to make his way through the trees, as light as a SkyClan cat and quick as a squirrel. He settled in the treetops overlooking the nursery and began signaling down at her.

 _Three toms._

With a nod, she leaped onto the top of the nursery, shocked that it almost felt like steady earth under her. The branches had been woven over many generations, growing together until they were almost an impenetrable shield against falling trees and branches. She easily scrambled over the roof and launched herself at the nearest warrior.

"You!" snarled the spotted tabby warrior, staggering back. His yellow eyes flashed in the darkness, and the stench of the marsh clung to him like mud. The excitement of battle filled his eyes. "Tigerstar sends his regards! He'll never rest until your kits are dead!"

Foxshadow lunged forward, slamming into him and knocking him back onto his flank. Deerfoot growled, rolling away as her paw slammed down near his throat. She growled, shifting her weight to her hindpaws and lunged. He snapped to his feet, raising a paw to strike. She ducked her head, the claws snagging her ear, and leaped into him, her teeth colliding with his shoulder, her weight knocking him off his paws and pinning him. He squirmed under her, yowling fiercely for aid. Yowls and shrieks behind her told them they weren't coming. After a while of squirming, he relaxed, going limp under her.

For a heartbeat, she almost went for his throat, but stopped herself. Darkpaw's injuries flashed through her mind. If she did this, she really would be like Tigerclaw. She had to draw the line somewhere.

She released him and he fled up the ravine, but stopped at the top, looking over his shoulder with narrowed and angry eyes. His tail rose and he pelted back down the ravine, towards the camp entrance. For a heartbeat, total darkness swallowed up the forest. Foxshadow stared with shock, her claws digging into the ground.

 _He's used me_ , she thought. _He's nothing more than a dishonorable rogue! I should have killed him!_

Her vision, the world, turned red. Snarling, she pelted after him, turning the corner. Her eyes glowed like the sun. High above, a red moon washed the world in blood.

In front of her, Deerfoot had his back to her, his head thrown back as he stared with wide terrified eyes at the blood moon. He seemed covered in blood. _My kit's blood._ Foxshadow threw herself onto Deerfoot's back, dragging him to the ground, her teeth grabbing a mouthful of skin, tearing off red fur and flesh. Deerfoot let out a horrible scream, but Foxshadow was deaf. All she could hear was the blood in her ears, pounding like a river through her mind, seeping into her eyes. Her claws scraped against ribs, tingling. The blood-red monster fought, scrambled to his paws, his sides coated in blood, his mouth opened in a silent scream, before he was down again, her teeth in his spine.

A black shape boiled into her, knocking her away, a voice yowled in her ear, but she couldn't hear over the sound of blood in her ears and the taste of it on her tongue and the smell of treacherous rogue. The bloody brown fur under her twitched and spasmed as her blows and bites landed, until it finally gave a weak shudder and went still.

The red disappeared. She stepped back, panting, staring at the unrecognizable body before her. The rage gave way to tranquil calm, her gaze cool as she stared silently at the cat who could have escaped if he hadn't spit on her honor and turned back.

"Rest in darkness, kitkiller," she spat, turning away from him.

A massive smokey black tom stared at her, his normally stoic eyes gazing at her with open shock.

"Blackclaw," she mewed, radiating calm. Her gaze swept the ravine. Shadepelt and Whiteclaw tore into a massive former BloodClan warrior, his pelt rippling with muscle.

"You killed him," Blackclaw meowed.

"I let him go the first time," she meowed calmly. "He came back. I wasn't going to let that go unpunished. Not after he threatened my kits."

The former deputy of RiverClan dropped his gaze to the bloody body behind her, his shoulders relaxing. "I understand," he meowed, a tiny bit of anger in his voice. "He was dishonorable."

The former BloodClan warrior, a spikey white tom, stumbled away from the two hissing RiverClan warriors. His gaze landed on the bloody mess and he froze, his fur on edge and eyes wide with shock. He swept over the two warriors, taking in Foxshadow's bloody paws and Blackclaw's clean wet pelt. Then he yowled. "Deerfoot is dead!" With that, he fled into the forest, yowling.

Whiteclaw gave a yowl of triumph, barely giving the dead body a glance before turning to Blackclaw, triumph in his eyes. His eyes landed on Foxshadow. "The camp?"

Foxshadow opened her mouth to answer when another BloodClan warrior raced between them, yowling in defeat. Three more scrambled over the bramble walls and out in the forest, as smaller collared warriors pelted out of the camp entrance.

The massive she-cat shook her head. "Once their leader was killed..."

"There was no reason for them to fight," meowed Blackclaw, looking a bit put out. He dipped his head to Foxshadow. "You made the right choice."

"Cowards!" snarled Whiteclaw, glaring at their retreating forms.

"What a relief!" said Shadepelt, twining her tail with Whiteclaw's and shooting Foxshadow a relieved if subdued glance. She forced out. "Looks like we made it just in time."

Blinking in relief, Foxshadow lifted her head and scanned the trees, but Brackenfur was gone. "I'm going to check the camp."

"We'll wait out here," meowed Blackclaw, dipping his head.

Returning the gesture, she turned back towards the camp and leaped easily over the bramble wall, startling Cloudtail.

"Great StarClan!" meowed the tom. "I was about to claw your face off!"

"The kits?" she asked, padding away from him.

"Brightface!" he realized, pelting passed her towards the nursery.

With a mew to announce herself, Foxshadow entered the elder's den. Brindleface stared at her worriedly. "Is it safe?"

"They are gone," she assured her. "My kits?"

"Safe." The tabby elder gestured to Brightface's belly where the kits had curled up, asleep.

"Cloudtail is looking for you," Foxshadow told the white and ginger she-cat. "I forgot you were even in camp."

"I'm close," Brightface meowed, with a flick of her tail to her belly. "Had to stay."

Foxshadow nodded and dropped down next to her kits. Her familiar scent washed over them and they started to stir. She watched the two kits Mistleleaf had been concerned over lift their heads silently, before returning to sleep. All her other kits turned towards her and started mewling for attention, and she licked each of them, even her silent kits.

"Brightface!" Cloudtail charged into the elder's den, fur bristling. He circled Brightface once and settled down beside the ginger and white tom. "You're okay!"

"There used to be just two cats in here," meowed Patchpelt, amused. "Now there's the whole future of ThunderClan!" He licked his paw and shakily rubbed it over his ear. "I didn't realize I was that old yet."

Foxshadow flashed Patchpelt a grim smile. Her gaze fell on her kits, and she gave a long sigh before standing up. Her kits mewled loudly in protest. "Cloudtail, where's Brackenfur?"

"Outside," Cloudtail mewed unhelpfully. He wrapped himself around Brightface and rested his head on her large belly.

"I'll be back," she promised her kits, glancing at Brindleface. "Watch them for me, please."

The old gray she-cat nodded. Satisfied, Foxshadow slipped out of the den and took stock of the camp. She could see furrows in the top of the bramble wall where cats had clawed over them. The back of the nursery would need to be repaired and strengthened again. Her thoughts drifted until her gaze landed on Brackenfur.

"Brackenfur!" she meowed. "Is everyone all right?"

The light brown tabby blinked and looked around. "No one on our side is dead," he meowed. "Thornclaw is already working on the back of the nursery and Goldenflower's keeping watch. Snowstorm and the apprentices are fixing the bramble wall. Tawnyflower and Toadpaw went to bury the rogues." His lips curled at that last comment. "Most of the rogues escaped."

" _ThunderClan!_ " yowled a voice outside.

Foxshadow bolted for the entrance and squeezed her way outside. And blinked at the group of cats standing in pale moonlight.

"Is the entire Gathering here?" she asked in disbelief. Brackenfur was at her side, his eyes wide at the sight of so many cats.

Out of the crowd of cats surrounding Blackclaw's patrol, Fireheart rushed forward. "What happened?"

"Rogues attacked," meowed Brackenfur.

"Tigerclaw's followers," meowed Foxshadow, bristling. "I warned you this would happen! You're lucky no one died."

Fireheart blinked at her. Her gaze drifted passed him to the others, where Deadstar, Nightstar, Bluestar, and Stonestar talked with Blackclaw, Shadepelt, Whiteclaw, and Reedwhisker. She quickly padded over, dipping her head to the leaders.

A cat yowled in horror. "Deerfoot!?"

Foxshadow stiffened. A black and white tom crouched beside the mess of fur and blood that used to be a traitor.

"Blackfrost?" meowed Nightstar, eyes wide. "Are you sure?"

The former DarkClan warrior nodded, bending over his former mentor. "He must have been ripped apart by the rogues."

"Actually," meowed Foxshadow, voice cold. "He was the leader of the rogues. I tried to chase him off but he returned to fight alongside them. It cost him his life."

Blackfrost whipped around. "You're lying," he snarled. "He would never do something so dishonorable..."

Brackenfur stepped up next to her. "Foxshadow is telling the truth. The rogues only left because Deerfoot died."

Stonestar looked sharply at Blackclaw. "Is this true?"

The former deputy of RiverClan dipped his head. "Yes. Deerfoot led the attack on ThunderClan. They fled once they realized he was dead."

"Deerfoot was working with Tigerclaw, now Tigerstar." Foxshadow looked each leader in the eye. "Tawnyflower and her 'friend' warned us before the attack."

Bluestar blinked. "Where is she now?"

Foxshadow looked at Brackenfur. The pale brown tabby frowned. "She fought alongside us in camp," he meowed slowly. "She is burying the rogues.

"Bring her here," meowed Bluestar firmly. Brackenfur nodded and quickly padded back into camp.

Shortly afterwards, Fireheart returned with Sandstorm and Yellowfang. Bluestar dipped her head to the senior medicine cat. "It's good to see you're alive. How many did we lose?"

"No one," meowed Yellowfang, her pale yellow eyes landing on Foxshadow. "I hope that blood isn't yours."

Foxshadow licked her lips. "It's Deerfoot's."

Blackfrost snapped to his paws, his yellow eyes burning. " _You_ did this to him?"

"The coward threatened my kits and refused to leave when I chased him off," meowed Foxshadow, eyes narrowing. "He deserved it. Besides, if we hadn't killed him, none of the rogues would have left."

"Look at him!" growled Blackfrost. "You could have just killed him. You tore him apart!"

Foxshadow stared coolly at the tom's dead body and licked her chest. "Mousebrains and cowards like him," she meowed, "do not deserve mercy."

The black and white tom bristled angrily, his eyes watery with tears cats could not shed.

"Blackfrost," meowed Nightstar, his voice strangely calm. "Deerfoot's loyalty has never been to his Clan or the warrior code. He has only ever served his own self interest. This was a death deserving of a traitor and rogue." The frail old tom looked thoughtfully at Foxshadow. "We will take his body to the thunderpath and leave it for the crows."

The massive she-cat shrugged. "He is no longer ThunderClan's concern." She looked at Bluestar. "We need to focus on making repairs to the bramble wall."

A thin brown tabby tom blinked. "I do not understand," he meowed with a glance at Mistleleaf. "Does this mean that Foxshadow is the one who chased away the face of darkness?"

"What?" meowed Foxshadow.

Bluestar narrowed her eyes. "StarClan has seen fit to send us a new prophecy. 'The face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood. The leader of light will send the face a vision of his mission. The truth will save the Clan from his darkness'."

Foxshadow sat down. "StarClan never sends long prophecies like this." She looked at Fireheart. "What is it supposed to mean?"

The blue-gray she-cat lashed her tail. "Who knows? Maybe it doesn't mean anything. It's been around since Tigerclaw's birth."

 _Why would StarClan send a prophecy in parts over the seasons?_ she wondered. _Is the face of darkness referring to a cat who has been in the Clans since Thistleclaw was alive?_ Her fur started to stand on end, and she had the strangest feeling that she was right. But who would have been in the Clans since then and what exactly makes them the 'face of darkness'? _Tigerclaw has…_

She shook herself. "It is obvious that the face of darkness is Tigerclaw," she meowed. "But I don't believe the truth is referring to a cat. Whatever secrets have been hiding since Tigerclaw's birth, they will be revealed to us in due time. Until then, I believe ThunderClan needs time to itself."

Deadstar nodded. "It is obvious that WindClan has no purpose here. We will leave ThunderClan in peace for a halfmoon." He dipped his head to Bluestar. "Until the next Gathering."

Foxshadow dipped her head back at him and murmured a quiet "ThunderClan thanks you". Bluestar simply nodded to herself. Deadstar gave a smaller nod to Foxshadow, more of an acknowledgment than anything, and raised his tail to guide his Clan back to their territory. Foxshadow silently counted the cats leaving and realized WindClan had brought the minimum about of warriors to the Gathering. But she expected as much from Deadstar, since it was safer for his small Clan for the majority of his warriors to stay home.

Brackenfur returned with Tawnyflower and Toadpaw behind him. Stonestar hissed in shock.

"Toadpaw!" he growled. "What are you doing here?"

The dark brown tabby, who looked like his father, cringed and ducked down. "I went with Tawnyflower," he meowed, "we joined Tigerstar's TigerClan." He glanced around desperately. "He's our father."

Brambleclaw forced his way forward. "He's my father as well." He glared at Tawnyflower. "But you don't see me leaving the Clan to go join him. Loyalty our own kin should never be put above loyalty to our Clan. They raised us, they trained us, they fed us. That is more than anything Tigerclaw has ever done for us."

Toadpaw opened his mouth to protest but Tawnyflower's tail on his side silence him. Tawnyflower raised her head and tail. "I didn't leave because of any loyalty to Tigerstar."

"No," agreed Brambleclaw, teeth bared in a sneer. "You left because you couldn't handle being held accountable for the death of six apprentices."

"Enough!" meowed Foxshadow. "Tawnyflower, you left ThunderClan once already because life was too tough for you. How can we ever trust you again? How can any Clan trust either of you?"

Toadpaw looked shocked. "We fought for you."

Brackenfur shook his head sternly. "Tawnyflower has fought for us before. She left us after that, too."

Fireheart mewed. "We should give them a second chance." He looked at Foxshadow, a tiny bit of hurt in his eyes. She shook her head silently.

Nightstar stood up, and silence fell. "They are more honorable than Deerfoot," he meowed finally. "If ThunderClan and RiverClan will not take them, then ShadowClan will."

Relieved, Foxshadow dipped her head to the old black tom, but said nothing.

Brambleclaw shook his head. "Wherever you go," he told Tawnyflower, "I will never follow."

Tawnyflower's tail drooped. She dipped her head to Nightstar. "We accept your offer, Nightstar."

"Then, ShadowClan will leave," meowed Nightstar. He gave Deerfoot's bloody body a pained glance before steeling himself. "Whitethroat, Blackfur, take Deerfoot to the thunderpath, then join us back at Fourtrees. We still have elders and queens to take back to camp."

Foxshadow dipped her head. "ThunderClan thanks you, Nightstar. I am sorry that it could not have gone better for ShadowClan."

Nightstar nodded. "We should not have expected much from a traitor, but this..." He shook his head sadly. "ShadowClan apologizes for this. We will make sure that all our cats learn honor." He blinked at Tawnyflower and Toadpaw.

"Deerfoot may as well be the exception," meowed Foxshadow carefully, with a glance at Blackfrost. "His influence is what concerns us."

The old frail tom stared moodily at Blackfrost. "I understand," he meowed stiffly. He looked at Bluestar. "ShadowClan will agree to a halfmoon of peace." He rose to his paws and turned away. "Blackfrost, come here."

The black and white warrior blinked at Nightstar, grief in eyes. But when he found no sympathy in Nightstar's gaze, he ducked his head, and trailed after his leader in sorrow.

Bluestar turned to Stonestar. "ThunderClan thanks you and your warriors," she meowed warmly. "We are grateful for their aid."

Stonestar blinked and dipped his head. "RiverClan will give you a halfmoon of peace as well. We will return to Fourtrees for our own elders."

Bluestar nodded and looked at Brambleclaw. Her eyes seemed clear as they flashed with respect. "You will go with them and make sure our elders and queens return safely."

The dark brown tabby nodded and padded up to stand beside Stonestar.

"Blackclaw," meowed Stonestar, looking at the old former deputy. "Return to camp."

Foxshadow looked at Blackclaw and dipped her head. "Thank you, Blackclaw, for your aid."

Blackclaw returned the dip. "You are welcome," he meowed, before adding hesitantly. "How are your kits?"

"They are safe," she meowed. "We moved them to the elder's den to confuse our enemies. We will be returning them to the nursery after a quarter moon, or at least until after Brightface's kits are born."

He nodded his understanding. "I cannot wait to see them at a Gathering."

She purred. "If Stonestar and Bluestar are willing, you can see them at any time."

A strange gleam entered Bluestar's eyes, a knowing gleam. She looked at Blackclaw with interest. "You may visit during the quarter moon," she meowed, amusement in her gaze. "If Stonestar agrees."

Stonestar stared at Bluestar and then looked at Blackclaw. The smokey black stoic tom did and said nothing. Stonestar shook his head. "Return to camp, Blackclaw," he meowed finally. "I will see you then." The RiverClan leader led his Clan back towards Fourtrees.

The smokey black tom nodded, looking at Foxshadow meaningfully. "I will see them when they are apprentices."

Foxshadow frowned in disappointment but nodded her understanding. "I'll wait until then to show them off. Take care, Blackclaw."

As RiverClan disappeared up the hill to Fourtrees, Foxshadow felt a wave of relief to see so many warriors attending the Gathering. She spotted a silver tabby coat among them and knew Silverstream would tell Graystripe about what had happened here. Dustpelt padded to her side and pressed into her pelt, but his expression was hurt. She licked his ear, confused.

"ThunderClan!" yowled Bluestar. "Back to camp! We all need our rest."

With a sigh, Foxshadow nodded. Fireheart walked up beside her. "Foxshadow," he meowed quietly. "Did you really do that to Deerfoot?"

"I did," she meowed. She gazed into Fireheart's wide green eyes. "It was necessary."

"You tore him apart," meowed Fireheart, echoing what Blackfrost had said. "That wasn't necessary."

Despite the flicker of alarm in her belly, Foxshadow shrugged. "We cannot control what happens in a battle, Fireheart."

"It wasn't right," argued Fireheart. "You should have just chased him off."

"I did," she meowed. "He came back."

"Still," meowed Fireheart. "It's not necessary to kill to win our battles."

They padded through the bramble tunnel into camp. After a few heartbeats of silence, Foxshadow watched as Bluestar padded into her den, the lichen wall closing softly behind her. "What does ThunderClan say?" she meowed, raising her voice angrily. She looked at every cat in the clearing. "A warrior who had every chance to flee and was given the standard warning bite returned to the same battle he was chased from. What do you do?"

Dustpelt bristled. "You kill him," he meowed. "A warrior who does not know when to quit is too dangerous to simply chase off."

Sandstorm bristled in shock. "It's against the warrior code to kill!"

"No," meowed Brackenfur softly. "The warrior code only says that a warrior doesn't need to kill to win his or her battles, unlesss they are outside of the warrior code or for self-defense." He looked at Foxshadow. "This is a clear case of someone refusing to back down when they had every opportunity to do so. They were outside the warrior code, and this was clearly self-defense."

Between twigs stuck in his mouth, Thornclaw growled in agreement.

Ravenfeather looked a little sick. "We should never kill."

"You can't avoid it," rasped Yellowfang, gazing steadily at Fireheart. "Some cats just don't know when to quit."

"That doesn't mean you should kill them!" argued the former kittypet.

Dustpelt sneered. "Maybe the warrior life is too soft for you."

Fireheart bristled at him, but Dustpelt stared angrily back.

"If the cat had been Tigerclaw," meowed Foxshadow calmly, "would you still say that, Fireheart?"

The red tabby opened his mouth to argue and stopped, stung. He closed his mouth and stared quietly at the ground.

"Clearly," meowed Foxshadow, "you do not really understand what it takes to be a warrior." She lowered her voice. "Or what you need to do to defend your Clanmates."

Fireheart looked sharply at Foxshadow. "You tore him apart," he repeated.

"The way he died does not matter," she hissed back. "He is dead, and I was defending my Clan."

Cloudtail stepped out of the nursery. "I think," he meowed loudly, "that a queen has the right to defend her kits and use whatever force is necessary." He nodded at his mother.

Willowpelt shook her head. "This wasn't a simple case of defending one's kits." She looked at Foxshadow and looked away. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

"It's far simpler than what you think," Foxshadow hissed. "Deerfoot would have done whatever it took to kill my kits for Tigerclaw. That was clear when he refused to run away." Her gaze swept the clearing, her eyes glowing fiercely. "Right or wrong, I did what was necessary to protect my Clan's future."

Fireheart stared steadily back. Their wills were a mountain and a storm clashing.

Brackenfur stepped between them, flicking his tail. "We can save this discussion for later. We should focus on repairing the camp and making sure we get our rest."

A murmur of agreement rose from the surrounding cats. Foxshadow nodded, wondering if this was a sign that she should have stayed the deputy. If Fireheart wasn't willing to kill to protect his Clan, he would make a terrible leader.

"Who's on watch duty?" asked Goldenflower.

"Brackenfur," meowed Foxshadow, with a sideways glance at Fireheart, "and Snowstorm fought the least. They'll have more energy than the rest of us."

The deputy of ThunderClan blinked and nodded. For the moment, they had more important things to do than talk about Deerfoot's terrible death. Foxshadow headed towards the elder's den.

"Patchpelt, Brindleface," she meowed as she stepped into the den. "Mind if I keep the kits here for a quarter moon? It'll be safer to move them back then, and hopefully Brightface will have given birth."

Brindleface sighed softly. "I would love it if they could stay."

Patchpelt's whiskers fluffed up in a smile. "It'll be nice to finally have someone to talk to openly about..." he paused with a side long glance at Brindleface. "Well, you know, taking a mate."

Foxshadow's ears perked forward in shock, and she let out a _mrrow_ of laugh. "That," she meowed, "explains so much."

Brindleface flattened her ears and gave Patchpelt a stern look. "Make sure you do all your talking when I'm asleep, tom."

"No problem," he purred.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Wow, there's a lot of stuff that happens in this chapter. So much so that I actually wanted to spend like 1k words talking about it. Let me think... uhh.**

 **Patchpelt has had litters with almost every she-cat in the Clan at this point, except asexuals like Mousefur and aromantics like Sandstorm, and of course the loyal-to-her-mate-forever Foxshadow. I'm not sure if I wrote him right but I am trying to push the whole "Patchpelt is hypersexual" argument here. He likes she-cats and he likes mating. And Brindleface is so tired of it. XD**

 **Brambleclaw and Brackenfur. They're both showing strong signs of making good deputies one day, and I think Fireheart is starting to notice. Brackenfur has the calm analytical mind going for him and Brambleclaw has the strong vocal loyalty to his Clan over Kin. Fireheart is going to have trouble picking which one becomes his deputy when it's time.**

 **Lunar Eclipse! It's not mentioned in the story, but I would like to point out that the only reason all the Gathering cats showed up was because it happened. When a warrior of one Clan attacks and kills another, that tends to be the cosmic coincidence that StarClan sends as a message. I'm pretty sure that the argument StarClan was having with it self about covering the moon was more a matter of "Okay, should we just cover the moon with clouds or should we actually send a true night blood moon?" I have never seen someone use a lunar eclipse that way, or even just a regular blood moon. You know, because blood moons happen whenever the moon turns red and large, which is actually far more common than a lunar eclipse. You could walk outside in the middle of the night and look up and BAM red full moon. Like, it should be way more significant to the lore of warriors than it is. Just my opinion.**

 **The prophecy! The line "The face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood" has been around since the very first book and I'm finally bringing it back. I'd love to see people try to interpret it. Honestly, there's a million ways you can do it. "Face of Darkness"=leader of DarkClan, leader of Dark Forest, etc. "bathe in blood"=tonnes of cats dying, BloodClan arriving, etc. It's just... I love it because it applies to so many things that have happened and will happen before the end of this book. A sure sign that prophecies are vague hogwash that can last to the end of time. I'm so proud that I'm so terrible at making real prophecies LOL**

 **FOXSHADOW'S BESERKER MOMENT. Like, okay. I'm seriously trying to push her character towards the morally gray here. I know a lot of people are going to be upset - there's this huge stigma around making sure that your protagonist character, especially if they are a Mary Sue, good in every way, and I want to break that with Foxshadow. She's never been a truly good character. She's always been a little vicious and sharp under all that motherly fluff and cheerful amusement. She's gotten way more respectful over the books, which is good since she was such a snot-nosed brat in the beginning, but that's only a fraction of the character evolution she needs to go through. She is trying to not be so vicious in this chapter - after all, she let Deerfoot get away with a warning bite to the shoulder. But... when they ask for it, how can Foxshadow say no? And, when she goes all out, she goes all out. It's scary. And now she is starting to think Fireheart will make a bad leader. That's certainly going to cause a divide. LIke, come on, Foxy, just because they don't agree with your morals doesn't make them a bad leader. She's being blinded by your own "moral righteousness" here.**

 **Anything else? I'm not sure what some of you guys might find interesting or not. Just wanted to a ramble a bit here.**

 **Oh, right, next chapter. Next chapter is going to be the last chapter where Foxshadow ends up dictating what happens to cats in StarClan. Not because she stops doing this but because I'm tired of focusing on it. I've been pushing for her to move on from that, which is why there hasn't been head nor tails of it for most of this book. Though I think that was actually a mistake because this book has been so boring, but there isn't much I can do about that right now. Hopefully this chapter makes things better for those of you guys who have been begging for something exciting to happen for months. Sorry about that, guys, my muse has been running me dry every week. Anyway, next chapter we focus on Lizardstripe, tainted cats, and finally have a more serious discussion between the two parties forming in ThunderClan. That's the plan right now, anyway. If I end up taking a long break between here and then, that might change. It's frustrating trying to work with my dumb burnt-out muse, I swear.**

 **Anyway! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your opinion about things and would love to talk more about some ideas in my story if you guys are interest. Ask questions! I try to answer all of them as best I can.**


	79. A Dangerous Path pt 14

**A/N: Special thanks to Hazel Ashwood for pointing out a couple of problems in the last two chapters. One of them was about her nine lives. I had said that she had like three left when in actuality it's four. I have the list of the lives she lost and how at the end of this chapter. Also, I completely forgot that I failed to properly introduce the kits in the last three chapters. Somewhere along the lines, I must have rewritten or deleted a scene that had that in there. Mentions of her last four kits has been removed from last chapter and they'll be introduced for the first time for real in this chapter.**

 **Gamelover41592: It gets touched on a bit more in this chapter. Mostly, it has to do with the way Deerfoot died. It's by no means a clean kill, and none of the other cats know she went berserk.**

 **Guest: All true! Thank you for your review! I would encourage you to have a pseudonym in the future because it'll help make you stand out from any other guests who decide to not use a name.**

 **Hazel Ashwood: You bring up a lot of good points, and I am really grateful for them. Never apologize for criticism. (1) Like I mentioned at the top, I wrote a scene where the kits were introduced but apparently deleted it or wrote it out in favor of other stuff, so that's entirely on me. I've made edits to last chapter and have written a scene for this chapter where they can be introduced properly. (2) Naming the kits is also going to be in this chapter, with reasons that actually have nothing to do with discovering the kits. It's a huge coincidence, for sure, but I've been giving all the reincarnated cats their original names (Darkpaw, Darkstripe being the only example) that I think I should continue the trend. But, I did add a scene to better explain why they are named Oakkit and Ravenkit rather than say… Woodkit or Raptorkit or whatever ridiculous name Foxshadow would come up with for them. (3) Sandstorm is not having kits because she wants to be a warrior and isn't ready or interested. Mousefur has no interest in kits at all or toms or she-cats for that matter. Besides, it's not Sandstorm rushing everyone to have kits, it's Foxshadow, and that gets a little bit more of an explanation this chapter. I hope in the chapter I explain it well, but if not then I don't really know what to say. (4) Okay, so somewhere along the lines I confused the two. I knew she had lost lives but when I looked back over my notes, I misread the numbers six and three and flipped them. I've gone over the story beats and determined where she died and the actual number is four lives left. List of how she lost those lives is at the end of this chapter. Hope that helps clear up some stuff.**

 **Nethercat24: Bloodmoons, or lunar eclipses, happen super often in real life and not enough in cat-life, imo, lol. And you're comment is amazing.**

 **TheGuestReview: Omg, I love your pseudonym. So official. Thank you so much!**

 **TheGooSeer: Wow, thank you. If this is your first fanfic, I highly recommend PrinPardus' fics to be your second fanfics read, especially Shattered. She's absolutely amazing and, in my opinion, better than I am at consistency. Also, I have no idea who Kittyperclaws is, but thanks so much for the vote of confidence!**

* * *

 _A golden spirit prowled like a lion across the foggy stretch of StarClan territory. She made her way to the StarClan equivalent of Fourtrees. After the five founders had joined her for judgements, they had moved the location into the heart of StarClan._

 _Foxshadow felt tired and her thoughts felt scattered. The warrior code allowed a warrior to defend their Clan but Blackfrost, Fireheart, and Ravenfeather had pointed out something she had ignored. Where do they draw the line between being as vicious as Thistleclaw and following the warrior code?_

 _Deerfoot's dishonorable actions and disregard of the Code made him a rogue. He had invaded another Clan's territory without his leader's knowledge to kill the kits of a cat he had never met before. He had no reason to do what he did except to get in Tigerstar's good graces and it had cost him his life. He died a traitor to the Warrior Code. That was as clear as day._

 _But Lizardstripe had followed the warrior code in life until she somehow ended up in StarClan. The Code said nothing about how a queen should treat her kits, only that no harm come to them. Lizardstripe walked that fine line between breaking the warrior code itself and the spirit of the warrior code her entire life and she was accepted simply because she met the minimum requirement._

 _But still, her spirit faded and she drank from the life pool of ShadowClan, leeching off the living to prevent herself from fading. She did not belong in StarClan; she was a cancer that needed to be cut out._

 _So, what did that mean for the warrior code? The Code's only concern was making sure no kits died when someone could have stopped it. It did not ask the Clans to band together and make sure all the queens and kits were fed, but isn't that what it implied?Was that what the Clans should do if famine took hold? Save the kits over everyone else?_

 _Was that how she was supposed to view the "heart" of the code when judging cats? She felt less sure of herself which each step towards Fourtrees._

" _Foxstar!" Skystar glared at her from the top of the Great Star Rock. "You're late."_

 _Without answer, the golden spirit launched herself up the rock until she was perched at the center of the founders. She wrapped her tail around her paws and let out a small sigh of relief. Perhaps her powers would answer all her questions for her._

" _Lizardstripe," she meowed._

 _The founder's bristled at the name._

" _She is of StarClan," meowed Shadowstar. "Are we going to start judging all the StarClan cats now?"_

" _We will if we must," growled Foxshadow. "The cat in question is now responsible for tainting the pool of ShadowClan – unless you are condoning the idea that the dead should steal the life force from the living so they don't fade?"_

 _The black she-cat bristled in shock. "How do you know this?"_

" _I caught her in the act," meowed Foxshadow. "And now I want her brought before you for judgment. She is evidence that we need to start shifting our attention to those who barely qualify as good warriors."_

" _Bring her in," meowed Thunderstar, meeting each founder's gaze. "We need to see this for ourselves."_

 _A flash of light darted across the clearing before transforming into a faded spirit. Lizardstripe's lip curled but when she saw Shadowstar her eyes grew wide._

" _I kept my promise," meowed Foxshadow. "It has been two days."_

" _What have you done, Lizardstripe?" meowed Shadowstar._

" _There's no rule against it," meowed Lizardstripe quickly. "The only rule we follow is the warrior code."_

 _Shadowstar shook her head. "That isn't the point. You put your existence over the lives of living cats. You've endangered future warriors of StarClan!"_

 _The old queen sneered. "You stand up there and judge me when you don't even remember what it was like to even have kits!" She licked her lips. "Besides, no one stood guard over it. It was there out for everyone to drink from. It's not like I'm the only one."_

 _A gasp of horror escaped Thunderstar. "You mean there are others!?"_

 _Lizardstripe bristled. She licked her lips again. "What's wrong with trying not to fade?"_

 _Foxshadow grimaced. A voice in her echoed the sentiment: What's wrong with how you kill a rogue? She shook herself. "If that isn't obvious, perhaps you shouldn't even be in StarClan."_

 _Windstar gave a start. "Do you mean...?"_

" _A cat as corrupt and tainted as Lizardstripe should not be in StarClan," meowed Foxshadow. "They cannot survive here and are a threat to everyone else while in StarClan."_

 _Riverstar nodded. "We must send her to the Dark Forest."_

" _Is there no place inbetween we can send them?" asked Windstar. "It seems… extreme."_

" _She can live on the border," said Riverstar. "If she chooses to go further into the Place of No Stars than that, she can."_

 _Foxshadow nodded. "Perhaps it will save her from fading entirely."_

 _Lizardstripe stared at the founders. "What are you saying?"_

 _Thunderstar stood up. "You are no longer welcome in StarClan. You have been banished."_

" _But I have done nothing wrong!" she shrieked._

" _Just because there are no rules for or against it," meowed Thunderstar, "does not mean that it is the right thing to do."_

 _Foxshadow flinched at his words. Lizardstripe noticed and snarled. "If that is true, then she is just as guilty as I am!"_

 _A chilly silence fell over them. Thunderstar stared calmly at Lizardstripe. "Foxstar does what she does to protect the living. All you have done is destroy it."_

Foxshadow woke to the sound of her kits mewling for milk. She stretched, wincing at her sore muscles, and laid her head down on her paws. Outside, the snow had completely vanished. Naked branches clicked against each other in the chill air, their noise a background to the overwhelming chill of death which had settled over the entire forest. The leaves were heavy and wet with melted ice, barely making a noise under the paws of warriors who worked hard at sorting through the prey pile to pull out the rotten freshkill.

Patchpelt stirred beside her and gave a loud yawn. His bones cracked loudly as he stretched painfully, and she could see he was nothing but skin and bones.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "It's barely even the end of leaf-fall and you look terrible."

The black and white tom snorted, raising a back leg to scratch before thinking better of it. "I'm fine."

 _Arthritis_ , she thought quietly. She's seen it start to develop in her house cat, Snag. The tom had bore it as quietly as Patchpelt was, and she wondered if her mother was still taking care of the tom or if she had passed it off for her dad to do simply because she couldn't bring herself to be responsible for anything or anyone anymore unless it was on her own terms. Foxshadow quickly looked away, staring down at her kits and silently promising to be with them until they could be apprentices.

"I think Fireheart was in here a moment ago," meowed Brindleface. "He wanted to talk to you."

"Can it wait?" she asked. "I still haven't talked to Dustpelt about new names for the second half of our kits."

Brindleface frowned. "He seemed pretty urgent about it. Something about there's going to be a Clan meeting sometime soon."

Foxshadow felt a chill, her fur rising in fear. Her voice remained steady. "Okay. Thanks. I'll look into it." She glanced down at her kits again, feeling like she had been apart from them too much already. "Can you keep the kits warm while I'm gone?"

Brindleface purred. "Sure! Oh, and I forgot to mention, but Brightface had her kits last night."

"So soon?" Foxshadow shook herself. "I'll go visit them. I'm curious about what she named them." _And maybe I can determine what genetics they have, just for fun._ Excitement pulsed through her paws and she quickly padded out.

Her paws led her straight to the nursery. She felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she gave the prey pile a glance. Today, she was a real queen. She could put aside her warrior duties for her kits. Tigerclaw, or Tigerstar, prowled at the edge of the territories, plotting her kit's death just to get back at her for betraying him, but she could forget about him for a quarter moon. He had proven his patience and she could relax for a while before he worked up the nerve to use his resources to attack her again. Her Clan was safe until then.

Tiny hisses greeted her when she stepped into the nursery, the smell of milk and newborn kits masking nearly everything else. Brightface let out a _mrrow_ of laughter.

"They're practically warriors already!" she purred. "Morning, Foxshadow."

Cloudtail flicked his tails nervously, looking a tiny bit unnerved. "They did that when I showed up last night, too," he meowed sympathetically.

"They'll get used to us," Foxshadow assured him, remembering when her own kits had hissed at Dustpelt only yesterday. Well, all except two, but she dismissed that quickly, thoughts of Mistleleaf's concern flashing through her mind. "At least you know they can smell good, just like their father."

Cloudtail purred in pride. Brightface gazed down at her kits lovingly.

"Snowkit looks just like him, too," she purred.

Foxshadow stepped closer, gazing down at the tiny bundles of fur. Two white kits, one tom and one she-kit, laided side by side a solid grey-and-white tom and a pure bright orange she-kit with light red stripes on her paws and face and white tips on the end of her right forepaw. She couldn't help the purr that bubbled in her throat.

"The red she-kit looks just like her great-uncle," she meowed. "Fireheart should be proud."

Cloudtail flattened his ears. "I guess."

"Her name is Amberkit," meowed Brightface, with a purr. "She could be a great medicine cat, one day."

Foxshadow rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Your kits are going to be the best at whatever they want to do for the Clan. Don't assign them positions they might not want to fill." She gazed down at the orange she-kit, frowning at her long skinny legs and slim build. "She will be a great climber and a good runner with those legs." She had the bushy mane of a ThunderClan cat, though it spiked a bit from milk stains and being licked too much. "We could use more fast cats after what happened to Runningwind and Swiftwind."

She fell silent, her mind flashing back to the two tom's graves. She had rushed off to avenge them with the help of Mousefur and hadn't seen them in a long time. She wondered if they approved of what she did to Darkpaw, since it was his fault they were dead to begin with.

Her lips started to twist up and she mentally shook the memories away. "What are the other's names?"

"Dewkit," meowed Brightface, gesturing to the gray-and-white tom-kit, before gesturing at the white tom-kit and white she-kit respectively; "Snowkit, Whietkit. And of course, you already know Amberkit, and there's her sister Scarletkit." She gestured lastly to a dark red and white she-cat with a darker swirl on her side.

"Snowkit?" Foxshadow echoed. "We already have Snowstorm and he's young. Are you sure you want to name him that?"

"I couldn't call him Cloudkit," meowed Brightface, with an embarrassed look at Cloudtail. "What do you recommend?"

"Frostkit? Icekit?" she meowed, remembering the two dead apprentices and how vain Frostkit was and how teasing Icekit could be. Sadness welled up in her heart but she pushed it aside again. "Lightkit? Lightningkit? Palekit?"

Brightface tilted her head. "I like Lightningkit," she admitted softly. "But I think I prefer Snowkit. It won't be that bad to have another Snowstorm running around, right?"

Foxshadow shrugged. "I guess not." _I guess I just prefer my kits to have unique names. Like Viperkit and Brockkit. No pretense at being named after someone else._ Her thoughts drifted to Cloudtail and she winced, quickly growing amused at herself. _But that was canon_ _so_ _..._ "Snowkit is fine, just not something I would pick, I guess."

"Didn't you name one of your kits _Oceankit_?" Cloudtail asked with a purr. "What does that even mean?"

"Oceankit," meowed Foxshadow softly, "is named after the great water which stretches from horizon to horizon, but you might better know it as a the Sun-Drown-Place. It is in the west, where the sun sets beyond the horizon every day, and is the home of all the Clan's distant ancestors."

"Like SkyClan?" Cloudtail asked.

"Like LionClan, TigerClan, and LeopardClan," she meowed. "There's a smaller water pond to the north of that, if you follow the edge of the great water to a river with a barkground, where SkyClan, ThunderClan, ShadowClan, and everyone else used to live generations ago."

"Huh," meowed Cloudtail, resting his head on Brightface's hip. "So, ocean just means big water?"

"Yes," she meowed, amused. "The biggest water."

Brightface and Cloudtail shared a glance but fell silent. Foxshadow frowned at them but the mewls and hisses of the kits dragged her attention away. She gazed at each other them thoughtfully.

 _Even though Brightface's only black patch is now gone because of those dogs, The she-kit is red because her mom's a calico and her dad is secretly a red,_ she thought to herself, glad that her old passion hadn't let her forget about the cat genetics. _Cloudtail must have the white masking gene, because Snowkit and Whitekit have it, too. It has a chance of passing down to half the kits at the minimum, all if Cloudtail had both dominant pairs. Dewkit and Amberkit obviously have some of the white spotting gene from their mother, hence the white patches and small white spot on her toes, though that latter one might also come from the father._

 _And if that's true than Dewkit might have both dominant pairs since the white covers most of his body, and one of the white kits might not actually have the white masking gene but be two white spotting genes. It's hard to tell at this age because their noses aren't their adult color yet and their ears might not turn white until their older. But if they're ears are white and their noses are white instead of pink, then they have the white masking gene. Just like Cloudtail._

 _Whitekit might be a tortoiseshell under all that white or she might just be red like her sister. I wonder if Cloudtail is secretly pale red under all that fur?_ She imagined a cream tom with Cloudtail's long fluffy fur. _If he was cream, I would have to stop thinking of him as my fluffy white marshmellow._

"Mom?" Cloudtail began, hesitantly. "Why did you name Oceankit after the water?"

"Hm?" She blinked at him owlishly. "Oh, because of the Sun-Drown-Place and because he's going to be big, I know it. Him and his sister, Marshkit."

"But I mean," he started slowly. "You hang out with that RiverClan deputy at gatherings all the time and then you were so eager to show him your kits yesterday…"

Foxshadow's head shot up in affront. "Are you saying that I might have taken Blackclaw as my mate?"

"Well," began Cloudtail, obviously embarrassed, but he fell silent.

Brightface murmured quietly. "Patchpelt told us that you used to be a loner and sometimes loner she-cats took multiple mates."

"Not because they wanted to," Foxshadow snapped, her fur standing on end and her heart hammering. She realized quickly what she had just implied and quickly worked to soften the blow. "Sometimes it's better to have multiple toms hunting for you, so multiple mates is often better especially if one of them turned to be a terrible fighter and ended up not coming back with any prey." Foxshadow wondered if she had just lied to them. The rules must be very different for she-kits and toms who had intelligence and language like humans did, but she hoped this was the case for loners and rogues. "Anyway, I have no reason to take multiple mates. Dustpelt is the tom who I trust to take care of my kits, and ThunderClan is the only Clan I want to have them."

Cloudtail nodded simply but Brightface frowned. "But the little black tom-kit you have…?"

"My mother was a black she-cat with reddish back-fur," she meowed, remembering her cover story and Shadowfall, her old OC, and her mate Thunderbird. "My dad was a yellow tabby tom. So, it shouldn't be all that surprising that I have a black tom-kit or that I might have a red, orange or yellow tom-kit as well. When he grows, I think he might develop the same red in his fur that I have and my mother had."

"You don't look like a black cat," meowed Brightface. "You look more brown."

"Well, my fur bleaches out in the sun and develops the brown color, with my back-fur becoming more red as time passes, but I was born a black she-cat." _Probably_ , she had silently. She had no idea if she was born black or brown because she really wasn't born a cat. "It happens in a lot of long-furred black cat loners in twolegplace who don't have the same shade as you and RiverClan."

They nodded, satisfied with her answer, but she wondered if she would have to explain that to anyone else, too. It made her nervous. How many cats had already pegged her as unfaithful just because she didn't look like a black cat anymore and hung out with an old black cat from another Clan?

Cloudtail rose to his paws. "Well, I better go to that meeting."

"Meeting?" she echoed, remembering Brindleface's words.

"Yeah, it's at sunhigh," he meowed, lashing his tail. "Fireheart wants everyone in the warriors den."

"The warriors den? I thought this was a Clan meeting."

"It is," he meowed, looking annoyed with someone other than Foxshadow, "without Bluestar."

"Oh." She looked at Brightface. "Will you be able to come?"

The ginger-and-white she-cat shook her head. "I'm too tired."

Foxshadow understood why and gave her kits an amused glance. "Don't let them tire you out anymore than that." She lowered her voice. "I'll make sure Cloudtail brings you some borage leaves."

Brightface purred. "Thanks, Foxshadow."

The massive she-cat gave the new queen a wink before bustling out the entrance, pushing a bemused Cloudtail the rest of the way out of the nursery.

"Mom?" began Cloudtail. "What was that about?"

Foxshadow rolled her eyes. "You," she meowed, "should have already visited the medicine cat den and asked for some borage leaves for Brightface. She's going to be unable to walk for a day at least, so you need to make sure everything she needs is brought directly to her, including water and food. And make sure Falconpaw or Graypaw are working on replacing her nest at least twice a quarter moon. Kits are very messy and there's only so much Brightface can do before she needs new bedding."

Though Goldenflower was the oldest queen in the nursery, she had no kits right now, so all the queens in the nursery fell under Foxshadow. At least, she felt responsible for all of them. She had put them there to begin with.

But she had never expected there to be so many kits. Usually a cat had only two for their first litter, at least from her world, but she was starting to realize that everyone in the Clans was the exception to the rule. Something about the medicine available and the way they were raised and their genetics made them have as many kits as possible. Before even the second litter of kits, the Clan had more than enough cats to make up for the loss of the six apprentices, plus Darkpaw and Tawnypaw, all those moons ago. In a few short moons, when leafbare finally truly kit, the Clan was going to have so many kits that they simply wouldn't have enough warriors to train them all on time.

And that was her fault, too. What was the Clan going to do when all these kits became ready to become apprentices, and they became frustrated because there weren't enough warriors to help train them all? Would they rebel? Did StarClan have a special plan for some of them? Her thoughts whirled and she fought to bring her mind back to the present as Cloudtail stepped into the warriors den and she followed after him.

Most of the Clan had already gathered, with the exception of Fireheart, Bluestar, Thornclaw, Brackenfur, Snowstorm, and of course Brightface. Beside her, Cloudtail frowned in annoyance and looked at the nearest cat, Longtail, for answers.

"Where is he?" Cloudtail asked.

"On patrol," meowed Longtail, with a sharp glance at another cat. "Yellowfang is with Bluestar."

Foxshadow followed his gaze and spotted Mistleleaf's bright white pelt and odd-eyes. She dipped her head, blinking at the medicine cat. Mistleleaf quickly looked at her paws, and Foxshadow felt a little dread. Why would Mistleleaf need to feel guilty? Her gaze landed on Dustpelt, and she quickly padded over.

"What's this about?" she demanded quietly, pressing into her mate's fur and twining her much longer and fluffier tail around his.

Dustpelt looked ahead, staring at his clanmates in confusion and nervousness. "Fireheart wants to have a serious discussion with the whole Clan about Deerfoot's death."

Almost instantly, Foxshadow relaxed, her lips twisting up into a sneer. "The crowfood?"

"Yeah," he meowed, giving up on trying to read the room and looking at her, his ears askew with uncertainty. "You okay?"

"Not good," she admitted, raising a massive paw. "My limbs feel like they haven't trained in moons and protest greatly at having to fight yesterday."

"You did a good job," he meowed.

"Have you thought of some names for the kits?" she asked.

He watched her quietly, relaxing slightly under her gaze. "Forestkit," he meowed instantly.

She purred in amusement. "You really liked that one, huh?"

He nodded. "Might as well, since one of them is already Marshkit." His whiskers rose in amusement. "Or Earthkit. No cat in all the Clans would think to name their kit after the ground."

"Now you're mocking me," she meowed, lightly shoving his shoulder. "So, what else would you name them?"

His gaze turned serious. "Oakkit," he meowed. "After the deputy Tigerclaw killed."

Her eyes went wide. "You know, it doesn't change what he did."

"I know," he meowed, growing morose. "I just think that Redtail would have wanted that. Especially since we won't be able to name any of our kits after him."

Foxshadow gazed lovingly down at the tom, his noble lion-like face and fluffy mane, and wrapped her tail around him, pressing closer, a purr rumbling low in her throat. "Oakkit is a great name," she meowed softly, pressing her chin into his forehead. She absorbed his warmth and the low rumbling purr in his own throat, enjoying the nice moment before she eventually broke it. "What about the black tom?"

"Earthkit?" he tried.

She shook her head. "Earthkit is going to be for the big she-kit," she meowed with a purr. "I'll have to point her out to you. She's almost as big as Oceankit."

He struggled. "Ravenkit?"

"After your brother?" she asked, with a distinct glance at said black tom. He was pressing into Cinderheart gently, the two warriors sitting next to each other with their tail tips twined together, and he was murmuring quietly into the she-cats ear. Whatever he was saying she was not agreeing with, her whiskers twitched down in a serious frown.

He looked disturbed at the idea. "I haven't been very nice to him," he admitted, so quietly Foxshadow had to strain to hear. He looked up at her, speaking more confidently as he looked into her eyes with exasperation, "and you're always telling me to be nicer to him."

"Ravenkit it is," she meowed.

"Really?" His whiskers twitched. "You're not going to change their names to Birdkit and Treekit, are you?"

She huffed "I would never give my kits my such generic names." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Besides, I like naming my kits after great cats."

He looked down at his paws. "You should have told me sooner. Then, I'd give you an explanation for why I wanted _Badgerkit_ and _Snakekit_."

"Who would you be naming them after?" She purred in amusement. "The only Badgerkit I know is Badgerfang and he's ShadowClan. And since when has ThunderClan had a Snakekit?"

"Adderkit then," he meowed. "He was a big and powerful warrior back in the old days."

"I'm not renaming our she-kit after a big tom," she meowed decisively. "She's too thin and small for that."

Dustpelt flicked his ears in amusement. "Glad I could be of such great help."

In walked Fireheart, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, and Snowstorm behind them, and the entire warriors den fell silent. Though they had been talking a heartbeat before, Brackenfur and Fireheart also fell silent, gazing around at the gathered warriors. Fireheart gave a tiny nod, and Foxshadow watched her former apprentice as he silently lowered his head and started for her, heedless of the other warriors.

"Brackenfur," she meowed, silently asking a question but he said nothing, sitting beside her with his head held high.

Fireheart spoke, his voice losing some of his softness. "I think it's time we had a serious discussion about what happened yesterday."

Foxshadow felt her lips twist into a snarl, but she managed to stay silent. Her mate didn't, and half the cats around her seemed to agree.

"Foxshadow did the right thing," mewed Goldenflower, her head held high and her voice firm. "Deerfoot broke the warrior code and attacked the Clan during a Gathering! That can only be the act of a rogue."

"He had the chance to flee," snarled Dustpelt, "but he came back to a fight he had already lost."

"The warrior code was broken," agreed Brackenfur with a resolute nod. "Deerfoot became a rogue the moment he attacked ThunderClan during the Gathering."

More cats started to voice their opinions, but Fireheart just nodded. "He broke the warrior code, attacked a Clan during the Gathering, threatened kits, and refused to leave when he'd already lost." He looked tired and haunted, and his next words sounded like they were clawed out of him. "Foxshadow is in the right. StarClan's blood moon is enough proof of that."

Foxshadow looked around at Ravenfeather and Sandstorm, but they didn't look her in the eyes. Her former sparring partner looked queasy. She thought of Thistleclaw and how he had attacked enemy patrols by himself, killed warriors for little reason, and eventually died at the claws of an enemy patrol. She could almost see the similarities, and if it had been in any other situation, if her kits hadn't been threatened and Deerfoot hadn't attacked her during a Gathering, then perhaps she wouldn't have been in the right. Perhaps she would have been as bad as Thistleclaw or Tigerstar.

Dustpelt would not let this slide. "But you disapprove of her methods," he meowed. "Typical of a soft kittypet."

"I'm not a kittypet," meowed Ravenfeather, stepping up to his brother. "And I disapprove of her methods. We shouldn't be killing warriors or cats as if they were just rabbits at Lion's Trap." The black tom refused to look at Foxshadow. "Cats aren't prey, and we aren't as vicious like ShadowClan."

Dustpelt bristled. "You've always been soft," he muttered so only Ravenfeather and Foxshadow heard him.

Foxshadow felt shocked. "It's _good_ to have soft warriors," Foxshadow meowed suddenly. She looked calmly into Ravenfeather's shocked gaze and dipped her head slightly. "Many seasons ago, Bluestar had to compete with a vicious and aggressive tom for the position of deputy. He would attack border patrols needlessly and over the pettiest of slights, until one day he did it on his own and ended up killed by an enemy patrol."

Her gaze swept the Clan, and she meet all their gazes evenly. "We need soft warriors just as much as we need vicious ones. Without that balance, without that diversity, we would never be able to understand the true heart of the warrior code. We would never understand that it is asking us to defend our Clan only when absolutely necessary but also with all our hearts and all our minds. We are all noble warriors of ThunderClan, and we follow that code better than any other Clan in the forest because we can understand every single part of it. We are the first to know when a rule has a been broken, and we are the first to put a stop to the cat who did it. Without us, the warrior code would have given more power to cats like Brokenstar, who seek only to abuse it for their own ends." Her gaze landed on Dustpelt, who stared at her quietly. "We should never dismiss another cat's view point simply because we disagree with them."

The warrior tilted his ears back and lowered his gaze, before he looked at Ravenfeather. "I'm sorry."

Ravenfeather gave a small purr. "Thank you." He looked at Foxshadow, his expression unreadable, before he touched his nose to his brother's. Then he padded back to Cinderheart.

The entire Clan seemed to wait, watching Dustpelt and Foxshadow silently, but Dustpelt refused to look at any of them. With a tiny huff, Foxshadow rested her chin on his head, looking sidelong at Fireheart.

The deputy nodded. "That isn't what I wanted to talk about," he meowed finally. "Tawnyflower informed us that Tigerclaw, now Tigerstar, has created his own Clan. It sits between us and the Moonstone."

Mistleleaf shifted. Foxshadow pulled her head away from Dustpelt, her gaze on Fireheart.

"So," meowed Willowpelt, "our medicine cats can't go to the Moonstone anymore."

"It's worse than that," meowed Brackenfur, but he fell silent and glanced up at Foxshadow.

She stared at him silently in horror.

Fireheart spoke up quietly. "Bluestar is on her last life."

"What?" Dustpelt jerked forward. "Why are you telling us this?"

Many other warriors echoed the sentiment. That was between the leader and whoever she decided to tell, not the rest of the Clan.

"Because," meowed Brambleclaw slowly, "how will Fireheart receive his nine lives with no way to the Moonstone?"

Foxshadow felt a creeping sense of horror. How vulnerable the Clan be without a leader with nine lives? They could lose both Bluestar and Fireheart in the next few battles. And even if Fireheart did appoint a deputy before he died, it would possibly continue until they had no more cats in the Clan. That was Tigerstar's plan. To kill until he had no one left to kill or no one left to kill with. It was the only fight no warrior wanted to start because it meant only death.

 _But I have nine lives_ , _and Tigerstar still thinks I have more than that. Right? That's why he's going after my kits instead of me._

But since finding out that Thistleclaw was working with Tigerstar, Foxshadow had a feeling that that could change at any moment. The moment Tigerstar does learn about it, what is he going to do? She tried to imagine herself in his paws. If Foxshadow could be killed and her kits could be killed, which one would he go after first? Would he capture her kits and kill them in front of her before ending her own life? Foxshadow felt her fur rising in horror.

"Foxshadow," meowed Fireheart, "you should tell the Clan."

Jarred from her thoughts, Foxshadow stared blankly at Fireheart. "Tell them what?"

He hesitated. "About you and SkyClan."

Foxshadow stared at him, at first completely oblivious to his words. But then she closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts and remembering her own position in the Clan. She was a deputy who had stepped from the position to have kits, true, but she also stepped down for another reason. She had nine lives, and four left.

"I think," she meowed slowly, "that the Clan already knows everything about that. SkyClan is disbanded, possibly destroyed, or currently under the rule of Brokenstar. They cannot help us here."

Fireheart stared at her, and she gazed back with a tiny shake of her head. He settled back on his haunches, disappointed.

"Okay," he meowed. "I think we all need to think about this TigerClan and how to deal with them. If you can, get as much information from the other Clans as possible."

"WindClan hasn't been particularly friendly since Deadstar became leader," Ravenfeather murmured.

"We should still try," meowed Fireheart. He stood up and lashed his tail. "That is all."

He left, and Ravenfeather, Sandstorm, and Cinderheart quickly followed. With a sigh, Foxshadow pressed into Dustpelt.

"Let's go see your kits," she meowed. "I want you to know all of their names by the end of today."

He purred softly. "Marshkit, Oceankit, Viperkit, and Brockkit?"

She nodded, amused. "And the others?"

They padded into the elder's den, where Brindleface and Patchpelt had curled around the kits. Foxshadow quietly thanked the two elders before she settled down in their place beside her kits with her mate curling around in front of her to help block the cold air

"So," meowed Dustpelt, lowering his head over his smaller kits, "who's who?"

Foxshadow ran her nose over each kit, memorizing their scent. Her nose touched a very small reddish-brown stripped tabby tom-kit. "This is Forestkit." There was a big dark brown she-kit with short fur. "Earthkit." Her nose rested over the black tom-kit. She thought back to Mistleleaf's concern but shook herself. Besides him was a broad dark black-and-brown tiger-stripped tabby tom-kit. "Ravenkit and Oakkit."

The two kit's heads shot up in alarm and twisted around towards her with wide sightless eyes. No, she realized with shock, not sightless. The black tom had blue eyes but they were darker than a normal kit's. The tabby tom had amber eyes, dark amber, when they should be pale blue. Her thoughts instantly went back to Darkpaw and his yellow eyes even when he was born. The mark of a reincarnated cat.

This was Oakstar and Ravenwing.

 _If I hadn't given them a chance to reincarnate,_ she thought _, maybe my second litter of kits wouldn't have killed me. Is this StarClan's way of punishing me for making such a decision without them? Or is this the fault of that higher power that first brought me here?_

"They're beautiful," meowed Dustpelt. "They will all be great warriors of ThunderClan."

"They will be great at whatever they do," she meowed, unnerved. "Whether they become warriors, medicine cats, or loners."

"Loners?" Dustpelt blinked at her. "Why would they become loners?"

She shrugged. "They could be anything, Dustpelt."

"I will raise all of them to be loyal to ThunderClan," he meowed firmly.

"They could be anything," she repeated. Now that she was lying beside her kits again, she felt tired all over again. She laid her head down and curled around her kits some more, hoping to keep them alive and warm with her body heat. "I'm going to move them back to the nursery in a quarter moon, when they're stronger and fluffier."

"Good idea," he murmured. "I'll visit them again tomorrow."

She nodded, closing her eyes. Despite the fear and worry, she felt relieved that her family was safe.

" _The face of darkness will bathe the forest in blood. The leader of light will send the face a vision of his mission. The truth will save the Clan from his darkness."_

 _Around her, all of StarClan had gathered, a carpet of twinkling stars pressing close together into a mountain of fog and light._

" _It began with Tiny," whispered a voice. Raggedstar. "It will end with his father."_

* * *

 _ **A/N: I don't really have much to say here. Finally gotten out of that burn-out rut! (Here's hoping I don't jinx it.)**_

 _ **List of Lives:  
**_ _ **1\. Lost one life on WindClan territory after fighting Iceclaw (Fire & Ice pt 8)  
2\. Lost one life bleeding out while letting Raggedstar take over her body to defeat Brokenstar (Fire & Ice pt 14)  
3\. Lost a life to the dog's leader by both falling into the gorge and bleeding out in the river (Rising Storm pt 12)  
4\. Lost a life drowning in the river after defeating the dog's leader (Rising Storm pt 12)  
5\. Lost a life giving birth to her second litter of kits. (A Dangerous Path pt 12)**_

 _ **Ravenkit and Oakkit!** **A** **re reincarnations of Ravenwing and Oakstar. That's confirmed canon as of right now. This story is going to focus more on Ravenwing than anything. Oakstar is a can of worms that needs to be unpacked more seriously in the novella I plan to write on Spiritgaze and Forestfire. He was way more evil in the** **canon** **books than I had initially thought and I may have made a huge mistake in writing him as a more apologetic character considering what he did to Mapleshade's kits, helpless kittypets, and a few other smaller things which are a bit upsetting now that I think about it but aren't exactly memorable. He's a pretty significant evil leader of ThunderClan, that's for sure,** **and** **I'll have to figure out how I can fix him before I make him a** **serious** **significant part of the story.**_

 _ **Thanks everyone for your review! Next chapter is going to be the first of The Darkest Hour! We have finally made it to the final stretch and it's going to be a rough ride, I'll tell ya.**_

 _ **Don't forget to leave a review! It's my bread and butter. Also, criticisms AND flames are very welcome!**_


	80. The Darkest Hour - Allegiances Only

**A/N: I've made so many names for this latest book. It deserves its own chapter. That's right, no story with this one. Just names.**

* * *

 **Allegiances**

* * *

 **THUNDERCLAN  
Leader**  
Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes. 89 moons.

 **Deputy  
** Fireheart - orange tabby tom with dark green eyes. 23.5 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Yellowfang - old dark gray and ragged she-cat with flinty yellow eyes. 139 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mistleleaf

 **Warriors  
** Willowpelt - pale gray almost white tabby she-cat with green eyes. 67 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Slatepaw  
Mousefur - dusky brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes. 67 moons.  
Longtail - goldened black tabby tom, or pale yellow tom with black stripes, and green eyes. 42 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Falconpaw  
Dustpelt - dusty dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 25.5 moons.  
Ravenfeather - black tom with white chest spot, white tail-tip, white paws and amber eyes. 25.5 moons.  
Sandstorm - pale tortoiseshell tabby she-cat with swirl mark on her side and yellow eyes. 23.5 moons.  
Brackenfur - pale brown tabby tom. 19 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Ashpaw  
Thornclaw - gray tabby tom with half a tail. 16 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Harrierpaw  
Brambleclaw – black-and-brown tabby tom with long claws. 13.5 moons  
\- Apprentice, Graypaw  
Snowstorm – white tom with dark green eyes. 13 moons.  
Cloudtail – white tom with bright green eyes. 13 moons.

 **Apprentices  
** Mistleleaf - white she-cat with one blue eye and one green. 23 moons.  
Ashpaw - light gray spotted tabby tom with blue eyes. 13.5 moons  
Graypaw - dark gray tom. 9 moons.  
Slatepaw - gray she-cat. 9 moons.  
Falconpaw - dark gray tabby she-cat. 9 moons.  
Harrierpaw - black tabby tom. 9 moons.

 **Queens  
** Goldenflower - yellow tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. 67 moons.  
Foxshadow – massive black-brown she-cat with white throat, underbelly, and paws, a bright-red back, and sun-gold eyes. 33.5 moons.  
Brightface – white and ginger she-cat with half her face heavily scarred. 21 moons.  
Cinderheart - gray-and-cream tortoiseshell tabby she-cat with a broken back leg. 19 moons.  
Fernspots - dark gray spotted tabby she-cat with green eyes. 13.5 moons

 **Kits  
** Foxshadow: Oceankit, Marshkit, Brockkit, Viperkit, Forestkit, Earthkit, Oakkit, Ravenkit, 1 moon.  
Brightface: Dewkit, Amberkit, Whitekit, Snowkit, Scarletkit. 0.5 moon.

 **Elders  
** Brindleface - pretty pale gray she-cat with pale blue eyes. 97 moons.  
Patchpelt - black and white tom with amber eyes. 79 moons.

* * *

 **SHADOWCLAN  
Leader**  
Nightstar - frail, thin short-furred black tom. 107 moons.

 **Deputy  
** Ratscar - scarred young dark brown tom. 47 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mudpaw

 **Medicine Cat  
** Littlecloud - thin brown tabby tom. 23.5 moons

 **Warriors  
** Jaggedtooth - huge ginger tabby tom with amber eyes, formerly known as Snag, formerly of DarkClan. 62 moons.  
Snowbird - white she-cat. 47 moons.  
Whitethroat - mostly black tom with white paws, underbelly, tail-tip and throat. 25.5 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Rowanpaw  
Wetfoot - spotted gray tabby tom. 25.5 moon.  
Darktail - mostly white tom with black tail and spots around his dark amber eyes, formerly of DarkClan. 19 moons.  
Blackfrost - black-and-white tom with yellow eyes, formerly of DarkClan. 19 moons.  
Elmheart - dark brown tabby she-cat, formerly of DarkClan. 16 moons.  
Cedarheart – dark brown tabby tom. 14 moons.  
Magpiewing - black tabby she-cat. 14 moons  
Rookwing - black tom. 14 moons  
Tawnyflower - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly of ThunderClan. 13.5 moons  
Toadfoot - dark brown brindled tabby tom, formerly of RiverClan. 12 moons  
Nightwing – black she-cat. 10 moons.  
Smoketalon – mottled gray tabby tom. 10 moons.  
Scorchfur – dark gray tom with a ragged ear. 10 moons

 **Apprentice  
** Mudpaw – dark brown tom.7 moons.  
Rowanpaw – bright red tom. 7 moons.

 **Queens  
** Swanwing - white-and-black she-cat. 22 moon.

 **Kits**  
Swanwing: Whitekit, Kinkkit, Ivykit, Oatkit. 3 moons.

 **Elders  
** Tallpoppy - long-legged black tabby she-cat. 89 moons  
Dawncloud - small pale ginger tabby she-cat. 123 moons.

* * *

 **RIVERCLAN  
Leader  
**Stonestar - blue-gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes. 67 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Mintpaw

 **Deputy**  
Mistyfoot - blue-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes, mate Blackclaw. 67 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Primroseleaf - blue-gray she-cat with black spots and yellow eyes. 13 moons.

 **Warriors**  
Leopardfur - light golden-brown spotted tabby she-cat and dark amber eyes, former mate Tigerclaw. 47 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Foxpaw  
Silverstream - slender silvered black she-cat with blue eyes., mate Graystripe 25 moons.  
Whiteclaw - black tom with white legs and underbelly. 25.5 moons.  
Graystripe - silvered long-haired black tabby tom, with a distinct black stripe down his back, mate Silverstream. 24.5 moons.  
Shadepelt - smokey black she-cat, mate Whiteclaw. 22 moons  
Heavystep - light brown tabby tom with green eyes. 22 moons.  
Reedwhisker - black tom with small ears and blue eyes. 15 moons.  
Pikefin - dark gray tom with black spots and blue eyes. 15 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Dapplepaw  
Perchwing - black tom with green eyes. 15 moons.  
Stormfur - silvered tom with dark gray tabby stripes. 12 moons old.  
Feathertail- silvered she-cat with black stripes. 12 moons old.  
Rippletail - silvered black tabby tom with swirl stripes. 12 moons old.  
Hawkfrost - dark brown tabby tom with white toes and chest. 12 moons  
Mothwing - solid golden-brown she-cat. 12 moons

 **Apprentices**  
Foxpaw - smokey black she-cat with white paws and amber eyes. 9 moons  
Dapplepaw - dark gray spotted tabby and white she-cat. 9 moons  
Mintpaw - light gray spotted tabby and white tom. 9 moons

 **Elders**  
Blackclaw - smokey black tom with green eyes, mate Mistyfoot. 89 moons.  
Mallowtail - red-and-black tortoiseshell tabby she-cat. 89 moons.  
Skyheart - brown-and-black tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes. 89 moons.

* * *

 **WINDCLAN  
Leader  
**Deadstar - lean black tom with broken forepaw. 57 moons.

 **Deputy**  
Mudclaw - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 45 moons.

 **Medicine Cat  
** Barkface - darn brown tom with yellow eyes and short tail. 107 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Darkpaw

 **Warriors**  
Tornear - gray tabby tom with yellow eyes. 91 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Harepaw  
Morningflower - brown-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. 67 moons.  
\- Apprentice, Leafpaw  
Onewhisker - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes. 25.5 moons.  
Webfoot - wiry dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes. 22 moons  
Whitetail - small white she-cat with amber eyes, mate Onewhisker. 22 moons.  
Tawnyfur - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes. 22 moons  
\- Apprentice, Weaselpaw  
Gorsefur - ginger-and-white tabby tom, mate Nightcloud. 22 moons  
\- Apprentice, Antpaw  
Owlwhisker - cream tabby tom. 22 moons  
Crowfeather - dark gray tabby tom. 15 moons.  
Runningbrook - light gray tabby she-cat with a flat face, originally Graykit. 15 moons.

 **Apprentice**  
Darkpaw – heavily scarred black-and-grey tabby tom with narrow yellow eyes, formerly ThunderClan. 13.5 moons.  
Harepaw – brown and white tabby tom. 7.5 moons.  
Leafpaw – red tabby she-cat with amber eyes. 7.5 moons.  
Weaselpaw – ginger-and-brown she-cat with white paws. 7.5 moons.  
Antpaw – orange tabby tom with amber eyes. 7.5 moons.

 **Queens  
** Ashfoot - gray she-cat with flat face and clear amber eyes, mate Deadstar. 67 moons.  
Nightcloud – black she-cat, mate Gorsefur. 25.5 moons.

 **Kits**  
Ashfoot: Tunnelkit, Cavekit, Burrowkit. 5 moons.

 **Elders  
** Darkfoot - black tom with one white paw and green eyes. 103 moons.  
Rushtail - cream tabby tom with amber eyes. 135 moons.  
Rowanberry - brown-and-cream tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly of ShadowClan. 89 moons

* * *

 **TIGERCLAN  
Leader  
**Tigerstar - dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes, formerly of ThunderClan. 59 moons.

 **Warriors**  
Freezepelt – white tom with blue eyes, formerly Freeze.  
Scratchface – heavily-scarred cream tabby tom, formerly Slash.  
Sharpfang – dark brown tabby tom, formerly Tooth.  
Crystalpath – white she-cat with amber eyes, formerly Shard.  
Hartheart – light brown tom with dark eyes, formerly Heart.  
Antlerfang – pale brown she-cat, formerly Antler.  
Burnpelt – ginger tom, formerly Burn.  
Wolfclaw – dark gray and white tom, formerly Dog.  
Monsterclaw – massive yellow tom, formerly Monster  
Mountainfrost – massive dark brown tom with white paws, formerly Mountain  
Treestone – tall dark gray tom, formerly Tower  
Nightshade – black she-cat, formerly Bane  
Deepfall – dark gray she-cat, formerly Terror  
Flashfang – white tom, formerly Flash  
Windclaw – cream tabby tom, formerly Howler  
Vulturetalon – dark brown she-cat, formerly Vulture  
Clawpatch – white she-cat with black patches, formerly Claw  
Buzzardpelt – long-haired brownish black tom, formerly Buzzard

 **Queens  
** Flower – yellow and white she-cat, mate Tigerstar.  
Dusty – light brown she-cat, mate Scratchface.

* * *

 **BLOODCLAN's ELITE  
Leader**  
Scourge – black tom with ice-blue eyes and one white paw, formerly Icefoot of ShadowClan. 71.25 moons.

 **Scourge's Queens  
** Bleed – heavily scarred dark red she-cat with darker red stripes. 68 moons.  
Scar – heavily-scarred very pale brown she-cat with a horrifically-scarred face and ears. 73.75 moons.  
Frost – white she-cat with blue eyes and pink ears. 52 moons.  
Cutter – cream she-cat with amber eyes. 45 moons.

 **Scourge's Sons  
** Bone – black and white tom, formerly Socks.  
Brick – dark red ginger tabby tom with dark green eyes and one white paw  
Pit – small black tom with dark blue eyes  
Flame – orange tabby tom with green eyes and one white paw

 **Pink's Group  
** Pink – white she-cat with pink eyes and ears  
Poison – black tom with amber eyes  
Crush – massive light gray tom  
Death – black-and-gray tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Hunter's Group  
** Hunter – dark brown tabby tom  
Shatter – massive white tom with white ears  
Venom – black she-cat with blue eyes  
Carcass – dark brown tabby she-cat with red spots

 **Fall's Group  
** Fall – dark smokey gray she-cat **  
**Ruin – large light gray spotted tom  
Kill – black she-cat with thin silvery stripes  
Hoard – short-haired small dark brown tom

 **Fang's Group  
** Fang – white tom  
Lightning – white she-cat with pale gray patches  
Striker – lithe brown tom  
Bash – massive dark gray she-cat

* * *

 **CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS**  
Barley - short black-and-white tom, formerly of DarkClan, formerly of BloodClan. 91 moons.  
Brokenstar - scarred, patchy and ragged dark brown tabby tom, formerly of ShadowClan, formerly of DarkClan. 53 moons.


End file.
